Julian Assange makes desperate bid for 15 more minutes of Internet fame

Via the Dissident, who — we'll just see where this goes on any personal comments by him — Julian Assange has launched a criminal complaint against the Nobel Foundation over its awarding the Nobel Peace Prize, or Nobel Piss Prize as I sometimes call it, to Venezuela's María Cortina Machado.

A week ago, the Dissident had a good roundup on her history. For the unknowing, this willing pawn of US Nat-Sec Nutsacks™ was already plotting against her own government when Hugo Chavez was still alive. 

So, she's not deserving.

And? 

As I said at the Dissident's piece, Hank the Knife/Le Duc Tho weren't deserving. Nor was Dear Leader, honored just because he wasn't Shrub Bush.

But, deserving or not? Assange claims it's criminal:

Nobel’s will of 27 November 1895 is binding under Swedish law. It clearly states that each year the peace prize monies shall go to the person who during the proceeding year “...conferred the greatest benefit to humankind...” by doing “...the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” 

Any disbursement contradicting this mandate constitutes misappropriation from the endowment. The pending transfer of 11 million SEK ($1.18 million USD) and existing 10 December 2025 handover of the prize medal to María Corina Machado, in violation of this disbursement restriction, appear to be acts of serious criminality.

OK, there's our bid for a Warholian 15 minutes of fame. 

As for the past history, beyond the above? A list of all winners from 1979 on (choosing that year on purpose) includes, beyond the above:

• Mother Teresa, exploiter of the poor she claimed to represent, per Hitchens' demolition
• Elie Wiesel, Zionist flak 
• Aung Sang Suu Kyi, an eventual sellout to the Burmese military junta 
• Muhammad Yunus/Grameen Bank, a big stretch to call this about peace, and microlending has been shown to be somewhat overrated.
• The European Union, with its becoming more and more the political arm of NATO.

A few detailed thoughts in a few cases?

• Kissinger? Used his prize to lever US adventuresomeness in the rest of Nixon's, and Ford's, presidencies and beyond.
• Dear Leader? Used his to drone-kill at least one American citizen and otherwise expand warmongering, in concert with NATO in Libya (see EU above)
• Wiesel? See Oct. 7, 2023 and events both before and after. 

So, yeah, this is posturing.

Beyond that, while not knowing the details of Norway's version of German, non-Napoleonic, European law, this has zero chance as a criminal complaint. So, why didn't he sue instead? Maybe he knows the criminal complaint is such a sure-fired loser he can spin conspiratorial claims, whereas a civil complaint would also be a sure-fired loser but not a slam dunk. Norway's civil law appears to be very much precedent-based, with little in the way of statutory rules.

As for the reality of Assange?

I've got the whole deal here, in one of my top 10 posts ever, about the reality of who Guccifer 2.0 / Forensicator was (definitely NOT Seth Rich), the shady dealings in trying to hide his identity, Patrick Lawrence's pseudo-journalism on the last piece he ever wrote (or has been allowed to write) at The Nation, how both RNC and DNC were hacked, Duncan Campbell's yeoman work and more. 

I also remind you that Assange is not a journalist. That's despite what Chris Hedges and Ken Klippenstein, among others, say. More here.

As for the Dissident's piece? He doesn't have as much a following as Seymour Hersh, but oy, did Sy bring the nutters out. 

On the deep, dark issue of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory? Even if Yevgeny Prigozhin's Internet Research Agency started it, Assange goosed it. And, his toady, Craig Murray, also lied. That said, when presented with evidence he couldn't deny, Assange said, in essence "THOSE emails were hacked but that's not my source."

So, to all the people talking about Assange's integrity? Fuck off.

Assange's object and focus has always been himself first. Daniel Domscheit-Berg attested this nearly 15 years ago. Wikileaks is probably running low on money and he needs some. Yet Assange give a formal apology to Seth Rich's family and I will sing a different tune.

Assange did good in the past. Chelsea Manning can attest. That said, his formal suborning of Manning's actions is part of why he's not a journalist.

But, he never supported Wikileaks-type projects against less than fully democratic countries, ie, Russia and China. In fact, in the former case, he deliberately turned down options to help. And, this is why I’m a skeptical leftist, for the umpeenth time, and stand outside of political — and other — twosiderism. On this issue, I can call out Western imperialism and its Russian and Chinese forms as well.