Julian Assange - What's it about?

[dmgdnooc]

He wouldn't be a journalist in order that he might become isolated and treated as a terrorist, along with WikiLeaks as a terrorist organisation.
It makes shutting the whole shebang down so much easier.
　
State Dept Decides: Julian Assange Not a Journalist -- News from Antiwar.com
　
Google 'assange not a journalist' and read several more articles.
　

 

[Alceste]

The fact that the US government and a few of their page boys in the media say so doesn't make the position any less ludicrous.

 

[dmgdnooc]

Yeah, I agree it is a ludicrous proposition.
But these sorts of hypocrisies will manifest themselves when professed beliefs are tested.
　
The US Govt., and the 'page boys', are merely acting as expected.
Every Pres. in the past 30 or so years professed a belief in more open and transparent goverment while presiding over an exponential growth in classified materials.
We live in a world where everything to do with government is now routinely classified and secret, and its all to do service to the idea of 'national security'.
　
The mundane, everyday ordinariness of these 'secret' cables proves the point - too many things are secret that should be freely available and common knowledge.
It is not imperative to 'national security' to hide the fact that British Royals can be absolute dorks, or that the Sauds harbour an enmity towards Iran, or that Russia is largely a Mafia State etc, etc.
　
The proposition that Assange is not a journalist is just more of the smoke and mirrors leg-pulling of the past. You and I see it as a joke, but the game being played is for keeps.
The current arrangement suits oppressive paternalism and so many people long for a Big Daddy to take care of them. They sit in the big back seat and play their gameboys, only occassionally poking their heads up to say 'Are we there yet?' It is generally not noticed that the drive is only around and around the same block.

 

[ChrisP]

It would be easier for the USA to extradite him from the UK.
However the arrangements we have, are so one sided in favour of the USA, that It creates a political stink every time they are used.

I would say it's also easier to do what you like to a man who's been tarred with the brush of sexual crime. It paints him as an exploitative type. If there's truth to the matter than that is fair enough, but it all seems rather convenient and hand made to lessen the public interest in protecting him to me.

A friend linked me to this last week which I think speaks volumes.

  Lying is Not Patriotic  :      Information Clearing House: ICH

 

[sandandfoam]

Is the US seeking extradition? has he been indicted? all i see is talk of "possible" US charges.

As I see it what's happening with Assange makes no sense at all. Unless extradition to the US is the goal.
What he is accused of wouldn't constitute a crime in most countries yet interpol get involved and he's arrested jailed and his bail is opposed.
I would like to discover that the USA is not involved because it is all exceedingly Stalinist. But I don't hold out much hope.

 

[kai]

As I see it what's happening with Assange makes no sense at all. Unless extradition to the US is the goal.
What he is accused of wouldn't constitute a crime in most countries yet interpol get involved and he's arrested jailed and his bail is opposed.
I would like to discover that the USA is not involved because it is all exceedingly Stalinist. But I don't hold out much hope.

well the problem is its a crime in the country he allegedly did it, Sweden which is not renowned for being oppressive ,so best thing is go back and have his day in court just like i or you would have to.

 

[sandandfoam]

well the problem is its a crime in the country he allegedly did it, Sweden which is not renowned for being oppressive ,so best thing is go back and have his day in court just like i or you would have to.

I think that's the point - If you or I had sex with someone in Sweden and a condom burst Interpol wouldn't be hunting us down and we wouldn't have to.
This has 'honey trap' written all over it.

 

[kai]

I think that's the point - If you or I had sex with someone in Sweden and a condom burst Interpol wouldn't be hunting us down and we wouldn't have to.
This has 'honey trap' written all over it.

well i am not so sure Stephen ,Theres a little more to it than that.

Theres a lengthy process that this has been through to get to this stage and that includes a few Swedish and British Judges.

so i really do think that if it was me and you we would have to answer the charges at some point and that's what he has to do.

The whole world is watching so if he scared of the consequences ( CIA Black Ops, etc, etc,)i think its its far safer he attends court now than before, when most of us had never heard of him.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/world/europe/19assange.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

After a gentle little Waterboarding, Assange will admit to being what ever they want.
All they need is hands on him.

 

[Requia]

Another current theory is that Assange is not a journalist.
　
This has the major benefits of, supposedly, not offending any 'real' journalists who might be listening/watching and side-stepping potential disagreements regarding freedom of the press.

Being a journalist has no special protections under US federal law (some states have special laws for journalists) or the US constitution. Claiming that he isn't one is good smear tactics, but irrelevant in court.

 

[Alceste]

Being a journalist has no special protections under US federal law (some states have special laws for journalists) or the US constitution. Claiming that he isn't one is good smear tactics, but irrelevant in court.

True enough - journalistic freedom is a presumption that is inherent in the freedom of speech clause, but freedom of speech is for everyone, not just Rupert Murdoch's employees. Anyway, the US constitution is for US citizens, which Assange is not, so it's kind of a moot point.

The objective is basically to ruin wikileaks by destroying its reputation for trustworthiness. I expect they hoped a little bit of rape accusation and some clever hacking would sort that out once and for all and they could get on with their lives, but they have been put on the defensive by the mayhem and controversy their efforts have provoked, not to mention the explosion of wikileaks' entire archive to the private hard drives of hundreds of thousands of supporters.

My own suspicion is that what he is going through is not retribution for the diplomatic cables or the war logs, but an attempt to cause enough chaos and expense to prevent Wikileaks from releasing Bank of America's dirty laundry.

 

[Alceste]

As I see it what's happening with Assange makes no sense at all. Unless extradition to the US is the goal.
What he is accused of wouldn't constitute a crime in most countries yet interpol get involved and he's arrested jailed and his bail is opposed.
I would like to discover that the USA is not involved because it is all exceedingly Stalinist. But I don't hold out much hope.

Keep in mind he embarrassed pretty much EVERY government. Whose to say the Swedes don't have their own bone to pick? My feeling is, if you could get your hands on a list of the attendees to the last Bilderberg meeting you'd basically have a list of everybody who wants Assange dead, discredited or in prison as well as a list of everybody who has the means at their disposal to accomplish one or more of the three.