Julian Assange Arrested in London

[Jumi]

Assange placed himself into the embassy. He stayed there for 7 years because he knew other options would be worse for him. From the reports I heard, the embassy kicked him out. When they did so, the UK cops picked him up for a bail violation. Now, instead of going crazy being trapped in an embassy, he is going to go crazier being trapped in a small cell.

Wikileaks released material incriminating Ecuador's president Lenin Moreno for corruption and they (Ecuador) started making military deals with the US. It's not surprising that Trump's new allies would turn Assange in. He's both a threat to the hand that fed him and a pawn for better deals. Lenin Moreno's support has also dipped after the corruption was revealed, he might sacrifice the pawn for a better future in the US after his term is done or he has to flee his country...

Ecuador says it is launching security effort with US

 

[Audie]

This is apples to oranges. It's one thing to pass military secrets to a foreign power (who would also keep it secret), while it's yet another thing to expose it to the public so that all learn the secrets. It's also a matter of exposing wrongdoing by the government, whereas it was not illegal for our government to build atomic bombs.

I would say that the Pentagon Papers was a more analogous situation. Would you say that Ellsberg was a traitor?



The Korean War was set up when the Allied leaders agreed to divide Korea. Another problem was due to emphasis, since Truman had put most of his focus on rebuilding Europe and defending Western Europe. China and the rest of East Asia were considered a lower priority at the time. Truman was seen by some as too soft on communism and that he didn't do enough to prevent the communists from taking over China. MacArthur wanted to take a more aggressive stance against both the Soviets and the Chinese Communists, but Truman fired him.



He was a nationalist who was fighting against what he saw as domination of his country by a foreign power. I wouldn't put him in the same category as the atomic spies.



Some might say that Woodward and Bernstein did as much in going after Nixon. A lot of dirty laundry was exposed during their investigation, which led to many more investigations and the downfall of the Nixon Administration. Since then, other scandals and dirty laundry have been aired by the media - oftentimes protected under the guise of "anonymous sources."

I wont try to talk you into thinking how Russia having the
A bomb influenced their adventurism.

I do know that no two situations are exactly the same.
Stealing classified information and giving it to the enemy
via open channel is still giving it to the enemy*

Doggedly pursuing a news story by legal and legitimate
means v theft of classified is kinda apples v oraneges

In the event-

I am focusing in on what it is for an individual to
take it on himself to pivot history to a new course,
for better or for worse.

 

[Revoltingest]

He also connived at disrupting the US presidential election, helping Trump to be elected.

To some (only fervent anti-Trumpettes) it was evil "conniving".
To everyone else, he valiantly shone the light on what governmental
roaches were formerly doing in the dark. Hillary's & the DNC's
skulduggery were just a small part of Wikileaks's operation.

People who don't want to be seen in a bad light should start
behaving as they would if all Ameristanians were watching.

 

[Audie]

To some (only fervent anti-Trumpettes) it was evil "conniving".
To everyone else, he valiantly shone the light on what governmental
roaches were formerly doing in the dark. Hillary's & the DNC's
skulduggery were just a small part of Wikileaks's operation.

People who don't want to be seen in a bad light should start
behaving as they would if all Ameristanians were watching.

We might want to write him into the bible, as his
story is so suitable for interpretation tailored to fit
any ideology.

 

[Stevicus]

If you flout the law you are no position to complain about paying the penalty. So far he is paying the penalty for breaking UK law, viz. skipping bail. However, as he has done this once he will not get bail a second time, while the extradition proceedings are in progress. So he will be in custody while this happens. That is entirely his fault.

Sometimes, you have to wonder though. There are a lot of people who flout the law. They might jump bail or fail to appear for their court date. Of course, warrants are issued for their arrest, but unless they're truly notorious or dangerous, they're not going to launch a massive international manhunt. Most of them probably just end up in a stack of files on someone's desk, while there's no real strong effort to actively pursue someone. It's a question of priorities, and so it's a fair question to ask what makes one case of flouting the law a higher priority than another case.

This isn't as much about Assange or his actions, as much as it's about the reaction of certain governments to him and his actions.

I think burglary is a more serious crime, and yet, the government doesn't do near enough to solve all the burglary cases out there. And yet, they all too often waste time and resources on silly stuff. This is the question that should be asked: Where are their priorities? What are they so worked up about this guy Assange for?

I'm intrigued though. If he is extradited, do you think he could not get a fair trial in the USA? If not, why not? Do you think the current laws protecting government secrets are unfair? Or do you think the US legal system is corrupt? It would be a jury trial, I presume.

I think it largely depends on how the case is handled. With the amount of attention this case is getting, there's a lot of light on it in which all the players will have to at least appear to be on the up and up. They don't want to have another botch like the O.J. case.

As far as I know (although I could be wrong), Assange never actually worked for the US government or signed any oath to not reveal classified information. So, this is quite different than US military or government employees going bad and giving/selling secrets to the enemy. This is more in the realm of aggressive investigative journalism for which one can find some sympathy in the US, from both the left and the right.

This is why they're going to have to handle this case rather delicately.

 

[Revoltingest]

We might want to write him into the bible, as his
story is so suitable for interpretation tailored to fit
any ideology.

 

[Stevicus]

I am focusing in on what it is for an individual to
take it on himself to pivot history to a new course,
for better or for worse.

Well, I'm sure one can find many examples where a single individual has changed the course of history. Although their motives might be varied and their consequences mostly unintended.

However, in many cases, particularly with assassinations and spy cases, it's often shrouded in mystery and intrigue that makes for good copy, but no one is ever exactly sure "what really happened." Stories can be written in such a way as to make it appear that "one individual took it on himself to pivot history to a new course," but whether or not it actually happened like that is another matter entirely.

 

[Audie]

Well, I'm sure one can find many examples where a single individual has changed the course of history. Although their motives might be varied and their consequences mostly unintended.

However, in many cases, particularly with assassinations and spy cases, it's often shrouded in mystery and intrigue that makes for good copy, but no one is ever exactly sure "what really happened." Stories can be written in such a way as to make it appear that "one individual took it on himself to pivot history to a new course," but whether or not it actually happened like that is another matter entirely.

Not much history is going to be recorded in a way
other than what is politically acceptable.

 

[exchemist]

To some (only fervent anti-Trumpettes) it was evil "conniving".
To everyone else, he valiantly shone the light on what governmental
roaches were formerly doing in the dark. Hillary's & the DNC's
skulduggery were just a small part of Wikileaks's operation.

People who don't want to be seen in a bad light should start
behaving as they would if all Ameristanians were watching.

I'd be more impressed if this guy shone a light on the really bad regimes around the world.

Seems to me he has devoted himself to spreading metaphorical dirt around and having deprived himself of the opportunity to do that, has resorted to doing it physically. I'm sure a psychologist would have something to say about his behaviour.

 

[Jumi]

I'd be more impressed if this guy shone a light on the really bad regimes around the world.

They have.

List of material published by WikiLeaks - Wikipedia

Corruption in "good regimes" is also a problem that needs some light unless we want them to become bad regimes.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'd be more impressed if this guy shone a light on the really bad regimes around the world.

I speculate that he can only provide whatever info he obtains.
Do you think he should ignore Ameristan & allies....or only
publish balanced information?

Seems to me he has devoted himself to spreading metaphorical dirt around and having deprived himself of the opportunity to do that, has resorted to doing it physically. I'm sure a psychologist would have something to say about his behaviour.

"Metaphorical dirt"?
What on Earth do you mean?

 

[Audie]

They have.

List of material published by WikiLeaks - Wikipedia

Corruption in "good regimes" is also a problem that needs some light unless we want them to become bad regimes.

A distinction between good and bad in this case
may be that the bad ones are a lot harder to change.

 

[Shantanu]

Assange placed himself into the embassy. He stayed there for 7 years because he knew other options would be worse for him. From the reports I heard, the embassy kicked him out. When they did so, the UK cops picked him up for a bail violation. Now, instead of going crazy being trapped in an embassy, he is going to go crazier being trapped in a small cell.

Julian Assange has played a blinder to focus the two States minds in the gaze of public opinion.

 

[Stevicus]

When you think about it, "Wiki Leaks" is a funny sounding term. If a toddler said something like "wiki leaks," I might think it's one of those euphemisms kids would use for certain excretory functions or "accidents."

 

[Revoltingest]

When you think about it, "Wiki Leaks" is a funny sounding term. If a toddler said something like "wiki leaks," I might think it's one of those euphemisms kids would use for certain excretory functions or "accidents."

Clearly, you don't know Hawaiian terms.
"Wiki" originates from "wikiwiki", which means "fast".

 

[Stevicus]

Some are saying Assange was kick out of the Embassy because he wouldn't clean the bathroom or clean up after his cat.

https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/...-assange-wikileaks-ecuador-london-embassy-cat

Like a bad housemate who never cleans up after themselves, eventually you got to kick them out.

So what finally happened to the cat? Will the US seek extradition for the cat as well? They could even offer the cat a deal to testify against Assange.

 

[Stevicus]

Clearly, you don't know Hawaiian terms.
"Wiki" originates from "wikiwiki", which means "fast".

I didn't know that. So then it means "fast leaks," but those are worse than slow leaks.

 

[Revoltingest]

I didn't know that. So then it means "fast leaks," but those are worse than slow leaks.

Fast leaking information is good.
And it won't stain your underwear.

 

[Stevicus]

Fast leaking information is good.
And it won't stain your underwear.

Well, that's true, but I was also thinking about the cat.

 

[Jumi]

To the people who say it's a Republican/Russian operation. Remember when they leaked Palin's emails and Obama won...