Why Julian Assange is NOT a “poster boy” for press freedom rather its obverse!

Julian Assange’s arrest by British police at the  Ecuadorean Embassy in London(where he has taken refuge since 2012) and his  possible extradition to either Sweden or the US has aroused much comment . To my mind, far from being the “poster boy” for press freedom, he has arguably done more harm than good on this issue. Critics have long noticed the bias(subtle or otherwise) towards Putin’s Russia on the part of WikiLeaks and its anti-Western( are we to believe that WikiLeaks has NEVER uncovered any dirt on Kremlin leaders and oligarches?) outlook. It;s NO coincidence that Assange has been a former host of Russia Today and has tweeted comments querying whether Sergei and Yulia Skripal were indeed poisoned on the Kremlin’s orders. Also WikiLeaks has published unredacted information exposing the identities of agents and special forces personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, possibly and actually putting their lives at risk. What Mr Assange clearly wants is the prerogative of the harlot throughout the ages- “power without responsibility!”

For that reason, if he is extradited to either Sweden or the US, I shall shed no tears over his fate in either jurisdiction!

A “snowflake” and the sacral approach to our armed forces

One does not have to AGREE with the student union president who was widely criticized for threatening to paint over a mural showing soldiers receiving their diplomas from the then Chancellor( it alluded to those students who gave up their studies to join His Majesty’s Forces at the outbreak of WWI, and never lived to collect their diplomas because they were killed in action) simply because they were all “white men” to be profoundly discomifited by the virtual lynch mob attacks on her(particularly by the “red top tabloids”.

Ms Emily Dawes proposal may have been tactless and insensitive but the hysterical tone of the press coverage makes me think that the cure could be as bad as the disease.

True, we ARE approaching the centenary of the Armistice of 1918 but the knee jerk condemnation and denunciation of ANY attitude other than uncritical veneration of “Our Boys” is as bad as equally uncritical demonization(mainly on the far left).

I should declare a bias here- I am planning to frame a pair of paintings featuring first a pair of members of the British Parachute Regiment(easily identifiable by their maroon red berets) sitting in the dock at the Hague based International Criminal Court and then their judges, identified as a German, a Japanese and an Italian, entitled “The Accused” and “Judgement At The Hague”; these paintings were inspired by ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s statement last November that she would seek to open an investigation into ALL sides conduct of the Afghan conflict(NOT simply the Taliban’s) presumably including NATO forces( which of course includes Her Majesty’s Forces)

Some may argue that such a painting might “offend” veterans as well as serving soldiers, but I remain unrepentant- if any veteran or serving soldier(whether of the Paras or not) is “offended”, I advise him to resign fortwith from the Army(anyone so monumnetally thin skinned as to be “offended” by a mere painting can hardly be expected to be endure the rigours of battle) Besides, justice if it is to mean anything it should be applied to  ALL- not simply the Taliban or African warlords or tyrants

Anybody think as I do?