The Long, Hard Fall Of Julian Assange

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The Long, Hard Fall of Julian Assange

by T.K. McNeil

 

Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy In London

Rogue Hacker Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy in London

It Is All In The Perspective

The difference between a “terrorist” and a “freedom-fighter” is essentially one of goals. One area where terms make a difference is the world of hacking. Used freely, and inclusively by the mainstream news media, “hacker” is little more than a general descriptor. All it really means, is someone who uses non-standard means to enhance their experience with technology.

They Wear Hats

If you have ever used a video-game cheat code or made non-factory improvements to your computer, congratulations, you are a hacker. The hacker world is diverse. The simplest distinction is between so-called “Black Hat” and “White Hat” hackers. Also known as “the criminal minority and the rest of us.” Though just as very few in the hacker community are nefarious, shadowy criminal types, equally few are virtuous, “White Hat” “Hacktivists.”

I Said It Was All Relative

Julian Assange Computer Programmer, Hacker, Activist and Wikileaks Founder

Computer Programmer, Hacker, & Founder of Wikileaks

As with the rest of humanity most are somewhere in-between. For most, hacking is surfing. Experimenting and testing to see what can be done with no particular goal in mind. Julian Assange is a “White Hat”. At least until recently. “Recently” being 2016 but like I said, everything is relative. Rather than being “done” as many have suggested Julian Assange and his notorious info-dumps are back in the news and not in a way many could have imagined.

Gray Hat

Assange is a lightning rod for controversy. Can you truly be controversial and popular?  Assange has never achieved popularity, but he has reached world-wide fame. I’d wager that even the most news ignorant of the populace have at least heard his name. His closest associates have said he is barely tolerable, and they continue to engage with him only because they believe in the importance of the work. Bringing truth to the world and bringing light to the dark places. Apparently forgetting that Lucifer was the bearer of light before the Fall.

Before The Fall

Julian Assange Was Accused Of Espionage And Theft In His Native Australia

Personal failings aside, Julian Assange was, and likely still is, a brilliant hacker. One of the best. This is after-all, the guy who figured out how to use and decode government data wires while still in his teens. He was however, “ratted out” and was charged with espionage (originally treason) and was tried in 1996 in a Melbourne, Australia.

Intellectual Inquisitiveness

He was convicted of 24 counts of “hacking” for crimes dating back nearly a decade. He received  leniency. The judge speaking to the matter said Assange’s “intellectual inquisitiveness” was extremely dangerous, however he “did not seek personal gain” and that was given weight. Assange was unique. He was a kid who had attended 37 different schools, lived in a cult with his restless mother and faced daily unpredictable circumstances growing up. But by the age of 15 he was sophisticated and expert enough to attack military computers, at a time before most Americans didn’t even have a personal computer.

Dr. Alina Polyakova Believes The Russian Government Is In Fact Using Wikileaks

Dr. Alina Polyakova

Motive

Another thing that was never at question was Julian Assange’s motives. The biography website Biography.com lists him as a “Computer Programmer, Hacker and Activist”. This was not to last long however, his uncompromising drive and near-pathological hatred of government (nearly being charged with treason will do that), shaded that white hat a distinctive shade of gray. Alina Polyakova, Director of the Eurasia Center volunteered this, “In his attempt to bring ‘transparency’, he ends up siding with the very regimes that deny transparency and human rights. That’s the irony of my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

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Trust In Government In Trump’s America

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Trust in Government in Trump’s America 

Just My Opinion: By Brett Kondratiew

From The Outside Looking In

At the outset, I am not an American, instead I live in Australia but I have an interest in American Politics. Pretty much because its brutality is unlike anything I have ever seen. However under Donald Trump, it has reached unprecedented ferocity. Is trust in government a victim of Trump intention and rhetoric? Or, a reaction to five decades of government disregard for a growing disgruntled and distrustful electorate?

Controversy And Division

To witness a presidential candidate, openly condone the physical and often violent behavior by his supporters, certainly piqued my interest. Yes, the battlegrounds of immigration and race will always cause controversy and division but when used as an explicit, electoral “plan of attack”, was extraordinary to watch. So here we sit, some two years into the Trump Administration and the question is, “Has Trump’s America altered our trust in government”?

Statistics May Have The Answer

As an observer I would say yes, America has lost faith and trust in her government. Statisticians examining and correlating their numbers all have reached a somewhat different conclusion. Fewer than three-in-ten Americans express faith that their government will do the “right thing.” This distrust in government has been consistent in survey after survey since 2007. So, increased distrust in government is not just a phenomenon of Trump. Perhaps Trump’s election was more about the lack of trust in government than we will ever understand.

How Low Can We Go

Confidence and trust in Trump, the man, is also staggeringly low. Eugene Scott, a writer for The Fix and the Washington Post, presents the following figures.  In Sept 2018, only 36% of people approved of Trump’s job performance. When questioned further, less than 30% believed that Trump would do the “right thing”.  This is the lowest figure seen over the earlier 10 months. Factor in the following stats; more than 50% of men believe that the media have more credibility than the government. It is significant that only 8% of African-Americans  trust Trump. His trust numbers among women are dropping so fast it is hard to get an exact number. Taking all groups together the average of expressed trust in government is at an all time low of 19%.

Is Trust in Trump a Ship that has already sailed?

I like to have a bet on horses but there is no way that I would put any of my hard-earned on someone with so little support. When I decided to write this editorial, I was given a copy of Bob Woodward’s new book “Fear- Trump in the White House.” I did not expect that so early into the read, I would find a man so ill-informed and totally unsuitable to be the “world’s most powerful individual”. Bob Woodward is a highly respected journalist and his book is based on many hours of interviews with multiple firsthand sources. The material presented doesn’t surprise me. Nor, does it surprise me that Trump has refused to comment, other than to call Woodward a “liar” and his book a pack of “lies.”

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Hi, I’m Brett Kondratiew

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Hi, I’m Brett Kondratiew

Calamity Politics is happy to welcome a new contributor, Brett Kondratiew.  Brett was lucky enough to grow up on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. I so envy the beach life. Brett now 58, lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Brett obtained his BA at the University of Technology in Education; with a dual major, English & Physical Education. Brett is married and has 2 boys, ages 18 and 21.  Of course, there is 7-year-old English Staffy dog. In his time off, Brett fishes and kayaks. Watch for Mr. Kondratiew’s article entitled, “Trust in Government In Trump’s America,” scheduled for release 12/5/2018.

Affordable Housing: When?

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Affordable Housing: When?

By Jones William and D.S. Mitchell

Struggling Families

HUD is one of the most important departments of the federal government.  A primary function of HUD is to provide subsidized housing for the nation’s poorest citizens. One-in-four poor Americans receive a housing subsidy. Through rent subsidies HUD turns “un-affordable housing” into “affordable housing”. Most people receiving housing subsidies are the elderly and/or disabled. Without government help low-income people are in danger of eviction, and homelessness.

Affordable Housing Under Ben Carson

HUD Secretary Ben Carson will  through budget requests and accompanying legislation, increase rent burdens for everyone in HUD subsidized housing. The timing for this action is difficult to understand. “As homelessness increases and affordable housing and the housing crisis intensifies in communities across the country, the administration is focusing its efforts on increasing rents and other burdens for the lowest income and most vulnerable households,” said Diane Yentel, president & CEO NLIHC (National Low Income Housing Coalition) in a Feb. 5, 2018 editorial.

An Uncomfortable bed

Affordable housing in America has become both a social and economic crisis, with those on the lower socio-economic strata being forced to bear the brunt of the suffering. The most recent estimate of homelessness in the United States is 553, 000. That’s about the size of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Location, Location

Cities such as New York, Seattle, and San Francisco have higher than average living costs. In Seattle the minimum wage is $13.00 per hour.  Despite such a high minimum wage it would still require $26.00 per hour just to keep up a modest one bedroom apartment under the 30% established affordable housing threshold.

The New Minimum Wage

An American worker must earn no less than $20.30 per hour to afford even a modest two bedroom apartment and not pay more than 30% of his income on rent and utilities. Take note, that is triple the federal minimum wage. It means the worker earning the current minimum wage “would need to work 16 hours a day, every day of the year to be able to afford a basic two bedroom apartment. If someone is sleeping eight hours a night, they would only have time to work or sleep-and that would be it” says Andrew Aurand, V-P for research at the National Low Income Housing Coalition which is responsible for the study. This may be just one of the reasons that Bernie Sanders found such a devoted coalition among voters old and young.

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Donations Accepted

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Donations Accepted

by James Moore

The nation has survived the one two punch of ‘Black Friday’ and ‘Cyber Monday’ and is set to tackle the next big event…..after-Christmas sales.  However, somewhere between, we now have to manage ‘Giving Tuesday’. Excuse me for not caring, about a day designed for companies to profit from; blindly donating my hard-earned cash.

We already have Thanksgiving, a day where we all say thank you without having to take out our wallets and give. Why do we need another giving day? I mean, I get it. If we buy more crap, the people we do business with will give some paltry amount to charities. Amazon, are you listening? Why should they get the credit for donating my money to others?  What a load of capitalistic garbage.

Speaking of garbage, we give away plenty this time of year to our local landfills. Donations are up because we have to clear out our house of all the old stuff we no longer want.  When I was a kid, our TV, like our car, lasted for decades. Now, if your flat screen is two years old, it’s time to part ways with it and buy a bigger, flatter, and more expensive one.

I feel bad for all the people in this country who are in need of the basics.  I would love nothing more than to donate to their cause, but frankly, I’m tapped out. I got kids of my own who need more new crap because they don’t want to face the shame of taking my two-year old TV off my hands.  They want a new one just like me, and dammit, they’re entitled to one.

Sure, I could always donate it, along with some old video games, an unused, unopened X-box from a few years back, and my CD collection to a church or organization who is collecting them. I just don’t have that kind of time. I’d have to call them up and make arrangements for them to pick the stuff up. Worse, they might expect me to take it down to them.  If I had that kind of time, I would just hold a yard sale. The trash bin is more convenient.

I also don’t get why I am asked if I want to give money to some cause a store promotes every time I go through a check-out line. Every store has its own charity it promotes and when I tell the clerk I don’t want to donate to theirs, I end up getting stink-eye from some gal with magic marker eyebrows.

To make my life more miserable, when I step out of the store, there’s some dude in a funny looking hat ringing a bell with one hand while his other is palm up seeking my money.  When I refuse to acknowledge his request, I get more stink-eye. When did it become legal to hold up someone in the name of donating to a cause?

I’d love nothing more than to burn rubber as I pull out of the parking lot, but I can’t since it looks more like the 405 freeway during rush hour.  Great.  Now I am stuck in a line of cars looking to make a left turn out of the lot while some guy covered in filth sits at the exit with a bucket in one hand and a sign in the other. His sign reads, “Woondid, humless, vet who has no fude to eet.” In the seven minutes it takes me to get out of the mall parking lot, he pulls in eighty bucks from people who just want him to stop looking their way. I’m thinking, “Your donations are making him rich and you poor, you fools.” Guilt costs money I realize.

And the pain continues. When I stop by the PO box I am overwhelmed with a box stuffed to capacity with, you guessed it, requests for money. OMG, didn’t they get my note; the one where I begged them to stop sending me requests for money, because I have a lifetime supply of address labels, note pads, all occasion cards and calendars. What I am missing is enough money to make it to the end of the month.

I figure I do plenty of donating all year round. It’s called paying taxes. It’s suppose to feel good when you give money. All I know is the entity I donate to is pretty slick because no matter how much I give them, they want more while I get nothing.  The IRS doesn’t even send me those return address labels  as a thank you for the donation they are asking me to mail to them.

Do you know why the average American is so much better than me at giving their money to causes? It’s because it is easier than donating their time.  Some people have more money than time. Other people would rather look away with a fiver in their extended hand than volunteer their time. The last thing they want is to feel uncomfortable seeing first hand a bad situation.  So my explanation is that most Americans would rather toss a few bucks at a cause, any cause, so they can feel they have done their part.  Hell, the average American won’t donate blood unless they are promised snacks and a gift bag.

I know what you are thinking. Go ahead and call me whatever negative name comes to mind. Tell me you feel sorry for me for having such a horrible outlook on the world. Convince me how wrong I am. Convince me that the average person truly cares and feels the pain of others which is why they donate to causes.

You know what?  Put up or shut up.  If you feel that sorry for me, then donate to me.  I’ll open a GoFundMe page. Save me while you still can. I promise you, the money you send me will be put to excellent use. I can get the mental health treatment I sorely need. I can get my teeth fixed. I will be able to turn my life around and with it gain a fresh and more positive perspective.  I will no longer feel like all I am is another guy to take money from. Instead, I will be that guy who receives it in large sums.

Who knows, if enough money rolls in, I can quit one of my three jobs and travel the world. This will allow me to see just how much I have to be thankful for and to feel bad for others who are less fortunate. Maybe then I will feel like giving to worthy causes. However, until that time, I will accept your donations in the form of cash, gift cards, money orders, and direct deposit. Just don’t donate an old flat screen. I will accept nothing less than a new 72 inch sucker with surround sound and wi-fi connect.

Happy Holidays,

Jim

Two Sides of Sexual Assault

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The Two Sides of Sexual Assault

T.K. McNeil

Motivated Hashtags

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception.

Most hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception

Most politically motivated hashtags are little more than shouts into the void. #MeToo being an obvious exception. The #MeToo movement is a social reaction against sexual harassment and sexual assault. Few hashtags, other than those associated with the “Arab Spring,” have had the same sort of real-world results.

Support the Victim

It is both interesting and disheartening to watch how the conversation and narrative has shifted on the issue of sexual assault. Mostly for the negative. I don’t think this says anything negative about the hashtag itself. Because the hashtag really is about supporting the victims of sexual assault.

Going Viral

Social media erupted sending the hashtag viral. The explosive growth in size and importance of the hashtag went beyond what was expected, or perhaps, even intended. The problem with a bandwagon is that anyone can jump on board. The most shocking turn, at least to me, was the statement that #MeToo is for “women and victims, not men and perpetrators.”

Empathy not Agreement

I can empathize with the frustration behind such a statement, particularly in the context it was first made. The answer was given in response to questions about what the movement will do to help any men unfairly accused of sexual assault. There is, however, a much deeper implication and assumption to the statement which is wrong, by which I mean incorrect, in a fundamental way.

It Just Takes a celebrity

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question

Alyssa Milano used the MeToo in a moving video and Twitter question.

On 10/15/17 film star Alyssa Milano in response to the media uproar over the sexual assault and harassment charges against Harvey Weinstein tweeted the following: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or sexually assaulted write “Me Too” in reply to this text”.

The Big Response

Within 24 hours social media was flooded with more than 12 million stories of sexual assault, and sexual harassment. #MeToo quickly became a way for users to talk about their experiences of sexual violence and just as importantly, stand in solidarity with other survivors. Despite gaining steam in light of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse case, this is not actually where the hashtag started.

Tarana Burke

The true progenitor of the phrase that would gain both fame and notoriety is African-American social and civil rights activist and community organizer Tarana Burke. Burke began using Me Too in 2006.

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #]MeToo in 2006

Tarana Burke, African-American sexual assault activist and civil rights organizer began using #MeToo in 2006

Canada Too

Kelly Oxford is a Canadian humorist and blogger who in April of 2017 wrote a collection of essays in which she relates many of the worst things that have happened to her through her life in a funny self-reflective “When You Find Out The World Is Against You”, drew thousands of #MeToo replies within the first few hours.

Clearly a Creeper

Oxford’s accounts of sexual assault do not take a “men are evil” tone, which some #MeTooer’s have done. The closest thing is when she recounts a doctor, who was clearly a creeper, gave her an unnecessary breast exam when she was 14. The most egregious case, however, an attempted rape when Oxford was in high school, was stopped by the intervention of the assailant’s much smaller male friend.

Reasonable Reactions

Stories of intervention and help by men and boys are told far too rarely in the context of sexual assault. We all know at least one person who has been sexually assaulted. We also know at least one or more stories of men either intervening in the middle of an incident or supporting someone in the aftermath of an attack. Clearly, most men are appalled by sexual assault. Continue reading

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: The Newcomer

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AOC: The Newcomer

By Megan Wallin

An Emerging Star

No matter what your political leanings, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one to watch. She is the youngest woman ever elected to congress. Ocasio-Cortez was born in The Bronx, NY on 11/13/89 of Puerto Rican descent.

Political Upset

“Women like me aren’t supposed to run for office,” began the political rocket ship of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s primary campaign. Not only did she win 77.92% of the vote to defeat 10 time incumbent Joe Crowley she did it spending less than $200,000. Contrary to Ocasio-Cortez Crowley spent $3.4 million dollars. The fact that she won was a huge surprise, but the margin of victory, in combination with her minimal spending, caused what can only be described as a political earthquake. She went on to trample her Republican opponent in the 2018 mid-terms by more than 72%. Those facts alone have made her an emerging political star.

Puerto Rican Ancestry

Some media outlets didn’t even bother mentioning her name, pre-election results, as if to imply that her chances were so slim it didn’t matter that she was running. A day before the primary, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had tweeted that “some journalists still refuse to say [her] name,” simply referring to her as Joe Crowley’s opponent. Some people attributed her win to political trends, while others noted that she was of Puerto Rican descent, and had huge support from the Hispanic community. According to New York times reporting, “Her strongest support came from areas that were not predominantly Hispanic.”

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Animal Cruelty Linked to Human Rights

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Animal Cruelty Linked to Human Rights 

By Michael Leonard Douglas

Animal cruelty a world-wide issue

The goal should be a balance in the ecosystem for all living things to thrive.  There is no justification for the barbaric cruelty that takes place daily on every continent. It does not matter whether a human is involved or an animal.  Animal-human right’s activists advocate for treating all animals humanely. Can you imagine the outrage if human beings were held in cages and tortured regularly or were hunted down by wealthy adventurers seeking nothing more than a photo-op with a corpse, or a trophy for their wall?  It is time that humanity finds the resolve to develop a plan that promotes co-existence with the rest of the animal kingdom. Where balance of land and resources put an end to animal cruelty.

Basic needs

Scientifically, human beings are animals. Therefore, when we talk about human rights, there is no real conflict with animal rights. Those most basic rights (needs) for all creatures are to live freely, have access to food and water, a comfortable shelter/habitat; and lastly, security from unwarranted threat and mistreatment. Animal cruelty is denial of any of these basic needs. When any one of these basic rights is infringed upon repeatedly the entire ecosystem is thrown out of balance.

View from the top

Since human beings are at the top of the chain and dominate every activity on the planet it is difficult to convince the global human population that we are equals with lesser animals. The term, “animal rights” was coined to give a voice to the millions of animals that face cruelty and slaughter every single day. There is no animal that is more intelligent than the human species and no species better able to launch and give voice to an appeal against animal cruelty than that carried on by its own species.

Links to animal cruelty and  family abuse

The link between animal cruelty and human rights is clear when we are willing to look at the evidence. Domestic abuse is not usually just an attack on one household member. The abusers target animals too. Most domestic animals that are mistreated are part of a paradigm of abuse. A study by the Animal Welfare Institute confirmed there is a connection between animal abuse, child abuse and domestic abuse.

Statistics are eye-opening

The Animal Welfare Institute study measured a strong connection between animal cruelty, child abuse, and non-ending domestic violence. According to their study, up to 72% of abused women reported a similar, if not brutal, abuse of their pets by their spouse or partner. The study shows that not only were the animals abused, but often killed in the process. In a similar study conducted nationwide, a staggering 84% of the people who reported domestic abuse also claimed that their pets were abused or brutally injured.

Animal Welfare Institute

Statistically there is a direct link between domestic violence and animal cruelty. The connection of these women (occasionally men) to their pets was found to be so strong that up to 49% of those reporting abuses chose to stay in the environment to protect their pets. These are shocking numbers and should be of great social concern. But is knowledge enough to turn social concern into social policy that safeguards both animal and human rights? A question not answered by the study was, is the cruelty toward the animals a characteristic trait of the abuser, or is it related to the human target of abuse and their relationship with the abused animal?

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The Revolution Won’t Be Live-Streamed

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The Revolution Won’t Be Live Streamed

By Trevor K. McNeil

 

I wrote a song today, I hope you like it……

The Revolution Won’t Be Live-Streamed

In this brave new world

we all have a voice/

Though not every woman

legally has a choice/

Social Media is the best invention,

though we’re still not big on intervention/

YouTube can be

a great place for learning/

How better to forget

forests are burning?/

When you’re feeling ill,

you can Netflix and chill/

Escape your fears for a while/

Like how the leader of America,

is really just a tall child/

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Oregon Team Battles Camp Fire at Paradise

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Oregon Strike Team #19 is in Paradise, California Fighting the Most Deadly Fire in California history. My friends from the North Coast make up this team of heroes. Thank you. We love you all so much, be careful, be safe. Amy Lenz my former co-worker shared these pictures. Please give to the California fire victims, both  human and animal. Team members include: Amy Lenz and Scott Welden (Knappa, Oregon), Ron Tyson and Aaron Smith (Olney, Oregon), Flint Helligso, Jeff Golightly, and Brent Saulsbury (Lewis & Clark, Oregon), and from Seaside, Oregon, Jenson Segui and David Rankin. The Oregon team joined the fight after an emergency request came from Emergency Management Services Compact (a state-to-state mutual aid system). North Coast Oregon Firefighters and equipment deployment could exceed two weeks.

Smoke from the California wildfires is being carried as far as Chicago, Illinois.

Amy Found This Survivor. A Cat Looking For A Human Friend.

Even in this dead zone Amy Found a Survivor. Hope she packs the little guy in her back pack. So Many Animals and People Have Died. Please support your volunteer fire departments around the country. They save lives.