Contrary to some posts, the arrest of Assange is not the end of civilization as we know it. He’s nobody’s idea of a hero & has pretty rotten politics. Our defense of him is based on principles of freedom of the press & his exposure of US war crimes in Iraq. There’s no value in going over the top about what his arrest means. Because of his high profile, he’ll get a trial in a kangaroo court & be sentenced to a long stretch in jail. He will also have a defense campaign. Compare that to the disappearance, torture, & murder of hundreds of journalists all over the world who have almost no active, ongoing defense. Compare it to what Palestinians, Kashmiris, Rohingya, Uyghur, Syrians, Iraqis, Yemenis, Somalis, Libyans, & so many others endure. Assange is in a hell of a spot. But it’s not the same as being tortured to death in a gulag. We should not lose perspective on that.