It's An Honour To Be Here
It's an honour to be here. In times of crisis. In times of need. At the turning of epochs. At times of great danger. At a time of transformation. At a time of urgent need. The wheels were turning, the great circular patterns that enshrouded and enfolded this particular place and time, with their political rulers a class of their own, alienated from the people, alienated from themselves, at war with their own consciences, if they had one.
One or many. There is strength in numbers. The old religious imagery flowed through him, implanted, not to be trusted, surrounded by Christians and Muslims and they who worshipped on high. He went slowly about his duties, and could hear the celestial spheres, and chose, for a time, to hide. The wages of sin. Turn a blind eye and you will be blinded. All of that. We can bring death upon you. Such kindness.
It had always been like this. They clamoured from out of the pit, they crawled upon the surface, in slime. Who were these creatures of some terrible netherworld? The denied? The forsaken? The ones who had chosen a wrong path, whatever that may be?
Each day passed in the kingdom with yet another squandering outrage, a government hostage to the increasingly out of touch globalists, peddling a tale of global warming, global burning, climate emergency, when Australians themselves were shivering through one of the coldest winters in more than 20 years. The disconnect was absolute, the gaslighting total. "Keep to your own lane," the voices told him, voices of common sense if not ancient wisdom.
Sometimes the advice was good. Sometimes his conscience drove him crazy with regret. Sometimes he wished to silence them all. The political scene just lasted and lasted, so many could not believe the depth of the betrayal, the full complicity with evil of the government shills, the ancient drift across the sky, the ancient symbolism through which they spoke.
And there it was. They were releasing a great danger upon the Earth, or at least upon their own species. And they knew it. And they did it full knowing. They did it for money. They did it for prestige. They did it to be part of the inner sanctum, and to save their own skin. They did not do it out of good conscience.
THE HEADLINES
Assange saga
Julian Assange’s defiant salute as wife asks for time to recover
The WikiLeaks founder made a symbolic show of victory, his arm outstretched and his fist clenched, after stepping onto Australian soil for the first time in 14 years.
Analysis
Julian Assange
The dark footnote in the history of tiny island where Assange was freed
After 14 years, the many twists and turns of Julian Assange’s legal woes were finally decided on Saipan – a little-known Pacific island.
Lisa Visentin
Exclusive
WikiLeaks
Three words that led to freedom for Julian Assange
The high-stakes hide-and-seek game is coming to a dramatic conclusion, with both Julian Assange and the US government getting what they need.
GUARDIAN
How freedom for Julian Assange is a quiet triumph for Anthony Albanese
Karen MiddletonPolitical editor
The prime minister was central to paving the way for the Wikileaks founder’s release in a timely riposte to criticism of his leadership and style
Wed 26 Jun 2024 14.21 BST
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Anthony Albanese had more than one reason to relish the moment he could declare Julian Assange was home.
His primary interest was the most obvious one. Albanese has advocated for Assange for years, long before he began doing so forcefully and in public, initially as opposition leader and then as prime minister.
Assange’s father, John Shipton, was a constituent in his inner-western Sydney electorate of Grayndler, and approached his local MP for help when Assange first faced the threat of incarceration after Wikileaks published a massive haul of secret United States documents.