What a shit storm! America’s Next Top president 2016 will go down as a gargantuan neon distraction for the ages. It was the year we learned yet again how hopelessly rigged the US electoral process is, but also how little the media or anyone else really cares.
To me 2016 will be the year one small group of activists flexed their muscles and steered a federal election. Not to mention epic lulz. Wikileaks sent a strong message to the ruling class that transparency is something expected of our leaders, or else the populace will simply facilitate it by other means. I can only imagine it will be remembered as a great victory for truth and a warning for future politico.
But many have speculated as to what possible reasons Assange could have for serving up these leaks, in what appears to be such a coordinated effort; and at great danger to his personal safety. What could be motivating him?
1. Hillary Clinton has come down hard on Assange since wikileaks began including the now famous “can’t we just drone this guy” comment. Imagine if you were sitting on the document saying that. If I knew someone was interested in killing me yet I was holding a trove of documents that could prevent that person from achieving power, the dynamics of my situation just changed considerably. Many also suspect Assange could possibly face the death penalty for his “crimes” if extradited to the US.
2. You would think a Trump presidency would be lenient on wikileaks and get Assange out of the Embassy and back to some type of a normal life. Trump has tweeted his admiration for the group and you’d hope he owes them a permanent hotel suite somewhere. He also knew that if Clinton were to win the POTUS he was looking at possibly 4-8 years more embassy time. Or would he ever leave the embassy?
3. In the liberal press there is a narrative being pushed that wikileaks is being supplied leaked emails by hackers with direct links to Russian intelligence and even the Kremlin. This seems convenient and Clinton’s campaign seems to be the loudest proponent of this theory, and it’s actually based in some truth.
Some states have also recently seen scanning and probing of their election-related systems, which in most cases originated from servers operated by a Russian company. However, we are not now in a position to attribute this activity to the Russian Government.
The problem with this is that anyone and everyone who wants bulletproof servers buys them in Russia these days. Am I right movie streamer sites? Also they don’t list any information about the company but my guess is it was just a hosting firm.
Many point out that Assange gets a lot of press from Moscow’s news foreign agency RT, and once requested a Russian security detail. Other than that I see little connection here.
I like to think Julian Assange is motivated by the truth. While he has gotten a bad rap from those he’s hurt, history will remember him as a champion of the citizenry and the father of the transparency and honesty movement. Sadly we live in a world where musicians are getting a Pulitzer prize and actual journalists are being detained in foreign embassies. Let that sink in.
