{"id":57752,"date":"2021-05-10T08:11:32","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T13:11:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=57752"},"modified":"2021-05-10T08:11:32","modified_gmt":"2021-05-10T13:11:32","slug":"antony-blinken-continues-to-lecture-the-world-on-values-his-administration-aggressively-violates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=57752","title":{"rendered":"Antony Blinken Continues to Lecture the World on Values His Administration Aggressively Violates"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Antony Blinken Continues to Lecture the World on Values His Administration Aggressively Violates<\/a><\/h3>\n

How can you feign anger over others\u2019 attacks on a free press when you imprison Assange as punishment for his vital revelations about U.S. officials?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on the importance of independent journalism, May 6, 2021 (Radio Free Europe); Julian Assange arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in his attempt to resist extradition by the Biden administration (Photo by Victoria Jones\/PA Images via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Continuing his world tour<\/strong>\u00a0doling out righteous lectures to the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday proclaimed \u2014 in a sermon you have to hear to believe \u2014 that few things are more sacred in a democracy than \u201cindependent journalism.\u201d\u00a0Speaking to<\/a>\u00a0Radio Free Europe, Blinken paid homage to “World Press Freedom Day\u201d; claimed that \u201cthe United States stands strongly with independent journalism\u201d; explained that “the foundation of any democratic system\u201d entails “holding leaders accountable\u201d and \u201cinforming citizens”; and warned that \u201ccountries that deny freedom of the press are countries that don’t have a lot of confidence in themselves or in their systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rhetorical cherry on top of that cake came when he posed this question: “What is to be afraid of in informing the people and holding leaders accountable?\u201d The Secretary of State then issued this vow: \u201cEverywhere journalism and freedom of the press is challenged, we will stand with journalists and with that freedom.\u201d Since I know that I would be extremely skeptical if someone told me that those words had just come out Blinken’s mouth, I present you here with the unedited one-minute-fifty-two-second video clip of him saying exactly this:<\/p>\n