The Belmarsh Tribunal D.C. — The Case of Julian Assange

On January 20, 2023, Democracy Now! livestreamed the Belmarsh Tribunal from Washington, D.C. The event featured expert testimony from journalists, whistleblowers, lawyers, publishers and parliamentarians on assaults to press freedom and the First Amendment of the U.S.

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Constitution Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman and Srecko Horvat, the co-founder of DiEM25, will chair the tribunal, which is being organized by Progressive International and the Wau Holland Foundation. Members of the tribunal include: Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Noam Chomsky, linguist and activist Jeremy Corbyn, member of U.K. Parliament and founder of the Peace and Justice Project Chip Gibbons, policy director of Defending Rights & Dissent Kevin Gosztola, managing editor of Shadowproof. Margaret Kunstler, civil rights attorney. Stefania Maurizi, investigative journalist, Il Fatto Quotidiano Jesselyn Radack, national security and human rights attorney, Ben Wizner, lead attorney at ACLU of Edward Snowden Renata Ávila, human rights lawyer, technology and society expert Jeffrey Sterling, lawyer and former CIA employee. Steven Donziger, human rights attorney, Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor-in-chief, WikiLeaks Katrina vanden Heuvel, editorial director and publisher, The Nation Selay Ghaffar, spokesperson, Solidarity Party of Afghanistan Betty Medsger, investigative reporter Suchitra Vijayan, writer, photrapher & activist.

Rights of Democracy Now!

Fylde Pebbles and Flower Moon by Tiffany Belle Harper

I am worried that I will become addicted to the internet. It happened many years ago when I did not have my own home – I was in hell. I had nothing I could do and felt so rubbish due to ill health both physically and mentally. It went on for years. I swore I would never go back there again. I will never forget those hard times hindered by so many cruel intentions around me. So anyway, I am allowing myself an hour a day online. Been doing this for a couple of weeks now. I have gone through all my notes and old photographs etc. It’s been soul searching – sad and happy. I have let go of a lot of pain.

Until lock down, I always have done things in the real world to try to help causes etc. Most people I know do the same. It’s a good way to get to sleep each night knowing you’ve done something purposeful. I am going to bed real early and getting up earlier too. I am getting a routine for myself, for the first time in years of some normality. Making time without feeling guilty. I have put on weight though, due to eating more chocolate and enjoying real butter. The pets are loving having me around them 24/7. I am making more time to hear my friends. I must admit WhatsApp I love. I am waking up to little posters and lovely messages. But I have never in my life carried my phone around with me. I put it down in another room unless I am expecting a call and it’s on silent. I am never going to put my brain in a machine like that. It’s not normal or right. People’s value should be measured in value not a screen.

Each morning, I tend to check emails, then I go on instagram to see what friends are doing by way of quotes and pictures and I get myself feeling positive with like minded. I try to do Facebook but it’s a swift entrance and exit as there is so much chaos there if you start to look around. Twitter is like a huge ball of utter madness. People regard a like or share as an endorsement and I know for a fact they don’t sign petitions or go out and vote they think a share is enough. It’s lazy. I love to blog. It makes me feel so peaceful. I learn and often the news is ahead and much more accurate. Each time I go online I want to be here less. I think eventually I will just not bother at all. I don’t want it around me, but then on the flip side of that I would miss my blog as it’s like my little space to remember. And to read so many great posts too. With blogging it is not a race or competition and nobody pays to be heard because it’s not about that. Blogging is a very personal thing. It’s brilliant. And I love sharing my photography over at TiffanyBelleHarperArt

I have set strict goals what I will and will not look at on the internet as otherwise we can very quickly become miserable or concerned by things that are probably not real. I am just using my time to get things done and enjoy the stuff I forget I had. But the main thing is music. I am listening to Jazz and Classical for much of the time and I am losing myself in it. I have also started to write the book I thought I’d finished which will probably get published years ahead of now as I am enjoying my other hobbies so much. Candle making and cooking are taking the lead but I know I need to work on the new website and project. I don’t know how I ever fitted anything else in at all. Oh well … hey ho.

Anyway, lovin’ these big pebbles two girlfriends of mine got from the sand dunes on the Fylde Coast and painted. I am going to sell these. Think they’re FAB. And it’s a powerful full moon tonight. A Scorpio Flower Moon. Letting go of all the rubbish. Clearing space for new beginnings. Nature is happier and the air is better. Nothing to miss really.

Tiff. X