Tuesday, March 25, 2025
The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Breaking News
Ad:

https://nordictimes.com/world/stella-assange-expose-them-and-they-will-kill-you/

World

Stella Assange: “Expose them and they will kill you”

Totalitarianism

Published 29 March 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Stella Assange and protests demanding Julian's release.
Share via

Julian Assange has been imprisoned “for exposing Western crimes”, says his wife, Stella Assange.

In a high-profile speech at her husband’s ongoing trial, she says that rulers and “warmongers” around the world will stop at nothing to maintain the escalating rhetoric of war and military industry – and are prepared to kill anyone who tries to expose them.

Stella Assange expresses deep surprise and frustration at Tuesday’s decision by the British High Court to adjourn until May 20 her husband’s appeal against extradition to the United States.

Condemning the decision as opening the door to US political interference in the case, she expressed her frustration and dismay at the decision to reporters outside the High Court in London.

– Today’s decision is astonishing. The courts recognize that Julian faces a blatant denial of his right to freedom of expression, that he is discriminated against because of his nationality as an Australian, and that he still faces the death penalty.

– What the courts have done is to invite a political intervention by the United States. I find this astonishing.

https://twitter.com/4allAmsterdam/status/1772648382445576216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1772648382445576216%7Ctwgr%5Ea97c635f26d1ecc9eae56b0efced746301e7d39d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnyadagbladet.se%2Futrikes%2Fstella-assange-ifragasatt-sa-dodar-de-dig%2F

“A disgrace to democracy”

She went on to stress that in her view, Julian Assange is a political prisoner and that the corrupt legal system in both the UK and the US is the reason for the restriction of his rights.

– He is a journalist and he is being persecuted for exposing the real price of war in human lives, Stella Assange told supporters gathered outside the court.

Julian Assange has aged considerably during the arduous legal process. Photo: Henry Nicholls.

Stella Assange also called on the US to refrain from filing affidavits with the Supreme Court and instead drop what she called “this shameful case”.

– This is a shame for every democracy [and] a signal to all of you that if you expose the interests that drive war, they will come after you, they will put you in jail and they will try to kill you.

Evidence of war crimes

The espionage charges stem from Assange’s publication of hundreds of thousands of pages of classified US military documents on WikiLeaks in 2010.

US prosecutors allege that Assange actively sought out leakers within the US intelligence community and conspired with one of them – intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning – to hack the Pentagon’s servers and retrieve the documents.

The files revealed evidence of what many consider to be war crimes committed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They include video of a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed 11 people, including two Reuters journalists.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The case of Julian Assange

Julian Assange is the founder of WikiLeaks, a platform for publishing secret information from governments and corporations around the world - mainly evidence of war crimes and human rights abuses - and over the years WikiLeaks has published hundreds of thousands of documents, including military and diplomatic reports.

Assange has been accused by the US of disclosing national defense information and by Sweden of alleged but unproven sexual abuse. These allegations have led to legal proceedings and extradition requests. Since 2019, Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison in southeast London, awaiting extradition.

In 2022, the United Kingdom, under then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, approved his extradition to the United States after an earlier extradition was halted due to Assange's mental health. Assange and his defense team appealed the extradition decision and fought to prevent his extradition to the US.

In 2024, the UK High Court postponed a decision on Assange's appeal until May 20, giving him more time to fight extradition.

There have also been allegations of political interference by the US, which many observers say led to an unfair trial.

Assange's case has also raised questions about freedom of the press and freedom of expression, with many defending his actions as journalistic work and criticizing attempts to prosecute him for revealing information about serious abuses that are of high public interest.

Stella Assange, Julian Assange's wife, has publicly criticized the extradition process and expressed concern for her husband's welfare and justice.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

https://nordictimes.com/europe/romanian-election-authorities-ban-georgescu-from-presidential-race/

Europe

Romanian election authorities ban Georgescu from presidential race

Totalitarianism

Published 10 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
National conservative presidential candidate Călin Georgescu enjoys strong popular support in Romania.
Share via

National conservative politician Călin Georgescu will not be allowed to run for re-election in May, Romania’s electoral authority announced on Sunday. The decision has sparked protests in the capital Bucharest, where demonstrators are demanding justice and democracy.

Romania’s Central Electoral Authority (BEC), decided on Sunday to disqualify Călin Georgescu from participating in the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled to be held in May.

Georgescu, who somewhat unexpectedly won the first round of the presidential election last November, has since been the subject of extensive legal investigations and political attacks.

The December election was annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court just two days before the second round was due to take place, leading to widespread protests across the country.

Arrested on vague grounds

In the aftermath of the court’s decision, Georgescu was arrested on what appear to be politically motivated charges. Romanian authorities have also carried out dozens of raids across the country against Georgescu’s supporters, including people linked to his election campaigns.

The court cited alleged Russian interference in the election, via social media, and campaign financing as reasons for the annulment – allegations that Moscow rejects.

Călin Georgescu has called the decision “a formalized coup d’état” and claims it is an attempt to undermine democracy in the country, based on the fact that powerful interests simply did not appreciate the election results.

“Freedom!”

After the election authority’s announcement, hundreds of Georgescu’s supporters gathered outside the authority’s office in Bucharest, chanting “Freedom!” and tried to break through security barriers, leading to clashes with police, reports Al-Jazeera and others. Security forces used tear gas to disperse the crowd and several people were arrested during the protests.

Călin Georgescu has continued to lead the pre-election polls with around 40% of voter support. He has previously promised to “restore Romania’s dignity” and reduce the country’s dependence on international organizations such as NATO and the EU.

On social media, Georgescu criticized the electoral authority’s decision, calling it “A direct blow to the heart of democracy worldwide! I have one message left! If democracy in Romania falls, the entire democratic world will fall! This is just the beginning. Europe is now a dictatorship, Romania is under tyranny!”

Support from the US government

US Vice President JD Vance and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have also expressed support for Georgescu and criticized Romania’s handling of the election.

In February, Vance accused Romania of invalidating the election on the basis of “weak suspicions” from Romanian intelligence and pressure from neighboring countries. Elon Musk describes the electoral authority’s decision as “crazy”, on his platform X.

Georgescu now faces a range of criminal charges, including disseminating false information about campaign financing, supporting fascist organizations and sedition against the constitutional order. He denies all charges and says they are entirely politically motivated.

At the time of writing, not a single piece of evidence that stands up to objective scrutiny has so far been presented by the Romanian Central Election Authority or other Romanian authorities.

Decision under appeal

The decision of the electoral authority can still be appealed to Romania’s Constitutional Court, which is expected to make a final decision by Wednesday this week. Meanwhile, protests continue in Bucharest, with demonstrators demanding justice and freedom for Georgescu to run in the elections.

The disqualification of Călin Georgescu from the presidential elections has created a political crisis in Romania, with accusations of violations of democratic principles.

As his supporters protest in the streets, the question remains whether or not he will be allowed to participate in the elections – a decision that could have far-reaching consequences for both Romania and Europe.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/von-der-leyen-eu-citizens-must-be-vaccinated-against-disinformation/

Europe

Von der Leyen: EU citizens must be “vaccinated” against disinformation

Totalitarianism

Published 7 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Ursula von der Leyen and other EU leaders from the EPP group at the Leaders retreat in January.
Share via

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has long been accused by critics of exhibiting totalitarian tendencies.

Speaking at the Democracy Summit in Copenhagen, she called for a new “European democracy shield” against “disinformation”. She likened this to a “virus” that the EU should work to “vaccinate” citizens against so that they become “immune”.

In her May appearance, Von der Leyen pointed out that the development of artificial intelligence has been very fast and that it is now possible to create fake – but very realistic – movie clips and images (deepfakes) and that these fakes can be used, among other things, to shape opinion during election campaigns.

According to the EU leader, this is why Brussels has already put in place some guidelines on AI and ethics, and she stressed that the Union needs to do even more than today to fight both AI fakes and what it calls disinformation.

– It takes resilience. As technology evolves, we need to build up societal immunity around information manipulation. Research has shown that pre-bunking is more successful than de-bunking. Pre-bunking is the opposite of debunking. In short, prevention is preferable to cure, she argued.

– Think of information manipulation as a virus. Instead of treating an infection once it has taken hold, that’s the de-bunking, it is better vaccinate, so that our body is inoculated. Pre-bunking is the same approach, von der Leyen continued.

Recurring virus likenesses

According to the President of the European Commission, “disinformation relies on people passing it on to others” and it is therefore necessary that “people know what malign information’s influence is” and of the different disinformation techniques.

– As that knowledge goes up – our chances of being influenced goes down. And that builds up the societal resilience that we will need, it said.

Von der Leyen declared that EU leaders “must be vigilant and uncompromising” and ensure that “malign information or propaganda” must be quickly removed and blocked. She also pointed out that social media giants are also obliged to act in accordance with EU law.

Censorship of dissenters

The conference took place before von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission, and she said she wants to set up a “European democracy shield” to track down and delete “fraudulent” online content together with member states’ national authorities.

Critics argue that in practice this is more about stifling dissent within the Union, as has repeatedly been the case in controversial policy areas such as migration policy, cultural policy, COVID policy, climate policy and foreign policy. In this context, it is pointed out that it is ironic that von der Leyen likens disinformation to a virus that needs to be vaccinated – as criticism of the experimental mRNA vaccine was systematically censored during the coronavirus crisis. The EU chief was also a driving force behind the mass vaccination campaigns, advocating for the injections of the mRNA preparations to become compulsory.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/assange-freedom-of-expression-at-a-dark-crossroad/

Tech

Assange: “Freedom of expression at a dark crossroad”

Totalitarianism

Published 28 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Assange says the repression of dissidents and dissenters is harsher today than it has been for a long time.
Share via

During the years Julian Assange was imprisoned and in solitary confinement, technology progressed enormously and AI innovations have become an integral part of society.

At the same time, the journalist notes that there is a clear link between AI and mass surveillance, pointing out that the technology is already being used to carry out mass killings and bombings of civilians.

In the fall, Wikieaks founder Julian Assange made his first public appearance before Council of Europe parliamentarians after more than five years of imprisonment in the notorious British high-security prison Belmarsh. Before that, he had spent seven years at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Assange admitted that he was deeply scarred by his time in prison and solitary confinement, caused by years of US persecution after he published material through Wikileaks that exposed gross US war crimes in Iraq.

– The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey; it strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence.

– I am not yet fully equipped to speak about what I have endured – the relentless struggle to stay alive, both physically and mentally, nor can i speak yet about the deaths by hanging, murder, and medical neglect of my fellow prisoners, he continued.

Programmers were radicalized

Alongside the persecution from the US and the time in captivity, the Wikileaks founder, who is himself very interested in technology and has a background as a programmer, spoke about the technological developments that he believes are a more double-edged sword than ever.

– I am enthused about some of the developments that are happening with cryptography. Some of those developments provide alternatives to what we see as huge media power concentration in the hands of a few billionaires, he said, explaining that cryptography has allowed Wikileaks to protect its systems and sources.

– Other technologies emerged out of the campaign of mass surveillance and the Big Bang was the Snowden revelations that radicalised engineers and programmers in many places, who saw themselves as agents of history including algorithms to protect peoples’ privacy – including communication between journalists and their sources, Assange continued.

Mass executions with AI

At the same time, the other side of technological development carries great dangers and pitfalls, according to Assange – and he pointed to how AI technology has been used to carry out assassinations and mass murders.

– As I emerge from prison, I see that AI is being used to create mass assassinations. Where before there was a difference between assassination and warfare now the two are conjoined. Where many, perhaps the majority, of targets in Gaza are bombed as a result of Artificial Intelligence targeting.

– The connection between AI and surveillance is important. AI needs information to come up with targets, or ideas, or propaganda. When we are talking about the US of AI to conduct mass assassinations, surveillance data from telephones, internet, is key to training those algorithms, he further explained.

“More retaliation and self-censorship”

Julian Assange touched on several other sensitive issues during his speech, including strongly emphasizing that freedom of expression today “is at a dark crossroads”.

– I see more impunity, more secrecy, more retaliation for telling the truth and more self-censorship. It is hard not to draw a line from the US government crossing the Rubicon by internationally criminalizing journalism to the chilled climate for freedom of expression now.

– The fundamental issue is simple: Journalists should not be prosecuted for doing their jobs, he said.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/europe/romanian-election-winner-arrested-under-investigation-for-fascism/

Europe

Romanian election winner arrested – under investigation for “fascism”

Totalitarianism

Published 27 February 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Calin Georgescu is being investigated for “anti-constitutional acts”.
Share via

Romanian police have arrested Calin Georgescu, the top candidate in last year’s annulled presidential election. Dozens of raids have been carried out across the country against his supporters and people linked to his election campaigns.

Georgescu, who is a strong critic of NATO and the EU and opposes sending military aid to Ukraine, made headlines last November when he unexpectedly won 23% of the vote in the first round of Romania’s presidential election.

However, the Constitutional Court annulled the result shortly before the second round, citing intelligence documents that alleged “irregularities” in his campaign.

Georgescu’s communications team said on Facebook that the politician was arrested just as he was about to file his new presidential candidacy:

“The system stopped him in traffic and he was pulled over for questioning at the Prosecutor General’s Office! Where is democracy, where are the partners who must defend democracy?”

Before his arrest, Georgescu himself condemned the raids on his supporters in another Facebook post:

“The communist-Bolshevik system continues its odious abuses“, he wrote, accusing the Romanian authorities of trying to “invent evidence to justify the theft of the elections and to do anything to block my new candidacy for the presidency”.

“Anti-constitutional acts”

The Romanian prosecutor’s office claims to be investigating Georgescu for “founding or supporting fascist, racist, xenophobic, or anti-Semitic organizations, as well as publicly promoting war criminals and extremist ideologies”.

The politician was released later that day but was banned by the court from leaving the country, posting on social media and appearing on TV, according to Romanian media. He faces a total of six charges, including “anti-constitutional acts” and economic crime, the authorities said in a statement.

It is also claimed that “weapons, live ammunition, and more than a million dollars hidden in a safe” were found during the raids.

“Political policing”

Following reports of Georgescu’s arrest, the politician’s supporters gathered outside the Attorney General’s office and chanted his name. The chairman of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, George Simion, also announced that they had entered the Prosecutor General’s office to demand an explanation.

– Until we see undeniable evidence, we suspect that this is political policing, he told local media, adding that so far “not a single piece of evidence” has been presented.

Georgescu’s surprise election victory last year and subsequent annulment over unproven allegations of Russian interference in the electoral process sparked widespread protests in the country.


Both conservative and liberal parties have accused the established parties – the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL) – of trying to retain power by controlling the actions of the Constitutional Court. US Vice President JD Vance and Trump advisor Elon Musk have also criticized the handling of the election.

Throughout his campaign, Georgescu repeatedly insisted on Romania’s geopolitical non-alignment and stressed the importance of national sovereignty and self-sufficiency – while expressing skepticism about the strong influence of the US-led Western bloc on Romanian politics.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com
Share via

N

Polaris of Enlightenment

News

Other

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Follow TNT socials!

X-twitter Facebook Telegram Instagram

© 2022-2025 The Nordic Times TNT.
All rights reserved.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Donate

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Donate
Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.

Send this to a friend