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Extradition of Julian Assange undermines freedom of speech

What is mindless is believing whatever the government tells you.

Let me guess.... you also think Afghans working against the Taliban are “collaborators” and therefore revealing their identities is no big deal.

You can spout all the empty talking points you want, nothing can change the facts about what a scumbag your hero is
 
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (former president of Brazil) champions the cause of Julian Assange.

"The British courts will soon be deciding the fate of the Australian journalist Julian Assange, a man who has been unjustly charged as a criminal. Assange committed no crime. He is a champion of the cause of freedom. The UK will say whether it will accept or deny the request for the extradition of Assange to the US, where he will face 18 charges brought against him by the government of that country. If he is extradited, Assange, 49, could be tried and sentenced to up to 175 years in prison, the equivalent of a life sentence. We must keep this outrage from happening. I call on all those committed to the cause of freedom of speech in every corner of the world to join me in an international effort to defend the innocence of Assange and demand his immediate release."
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...lian-assange-wikileaks-democracy-not-criminal

Assange is being scapegoated for providing evidence of American war crimes to various newspapers who carried the story yet no editors or reporters from El País, Le Monde, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and The New York Times is wanted by the Trump administration. These publications should be among the first to be defending Assange and not just reporting on what the English court is doing.

Jean-s, you are sadly misinformed.

Read the 20+, meticulously supported articles about Assange, here, and then attempt to refute my opinion.

 
Let me guess.... you also think Afghans working against the Taliban are “collaborators” and therefore revealing their identities is no big deal.

You can spout all the empty talking points you want, nothing can change the facts about what a scumbag your hero is
The U.S. government has been unable to prove that anybody was harmed by the revelation of American war crimes. What was damaged was American hypocrisy. Deluded Americans need to know what what crimes their government does in their name and wishes to keep secret.
 
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (former president of Brazil) champions the cause of Julian Assange.

"The British courts will soon be deciding the fate of the Australian journalist Julian Assange, a man who has been unjustly charged as a criminal. Assange committed no crime. He is a champion of the cause of freedom. The UK will say whether it will accept or deny the request for the extradition of Assange to the US, where he will face 18 charges brought against him by the government of that country. If he is extradited, Assange, 49, could be tried and sentenced to up to 175 years in prison, the equivalent of a life sentence. We must keep this outrage from happening. I call on all those committed to the cause of freedom of speech in every corner of the world to join me in an international effort to defend the innocence of Assange and demand his immediate release."
https://www.theguardian.com/comment...lian-assange-wikileaks-democracy-not-criminal

Assange is being scapegoated for providing evidence of American war crimes to various newspapers who carried the story yet no editors or reporters from El País, Le Monde, The Guardian, Der Spiegel, and The New York Times is wanted by the Trump administration. These publications should be among the first to be defending Assange and not just reporting on what the English court is doing.

Julian Assange is not a whistleblower. A whistleblower sees an injustice and attempts to correct it through the proper channels. Julian Assange stole troves of classified information and published it blindly, compromising U.S. intelligence operations all over the world. That a fraction of that information happened to show evidence of war crimes does not then suddenly make him a whistleblower. You can't get away with robbing your neighbor blind if within your stolen loot you happen to find evidence of his insider trading. Your neighbor's guilt does not absolve you of yours.
 
Jean-s, you are sadly misinformed.

Read the 20+, meticulously supported articles about Assange, here, and then attempt to refute my opinion.

You need a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to a hatchet job done by the U.S. government on a whistle blower. Various newspapers carried the story embarrassing to the government yet no reporters were charged because the information was correct and an informed electorate need to know.
 
The U.S. government has been unable to prove that anybody was harmed by the revelation of American war crimes. What was damaged was American hypocrisy. Deluded Americans need to know what what crimes their government does in their name and wishes to keep secret.

If I hack into the records of the Witness Protection Program and release the new identities of all those involved, it’s still putting them in danger, even if the feds manage to keep them from being hunted down and murdered.

But then again, you are probably disappointed the Taliban failed to conduct another murder spree and eliminate the “collaborators”.

No one needs to know the identity of Afghans working against the Taliban. Deluded European fanboys need to figure that out.
 
Julian Assange is not a whistleblower. A whistleblower sees an injustice and attempts to correct it through the proper channels. Julian Assange stole troves of classified information and published it blindly, compromising U.S. intelligence operations all over the world. That a fraction of that information happened to show evidence of war crimes does not then suddenly make him a whistleblower. You can't get away with robbing your neighbor blind if within your stolen loot you happen to find evidence of his insider trading. Your neighbor's guilt does not absolve you of yours.
"through the proper channels". I like that. See how far anyone gets when he lets the cat out of the bag concerning U.S. war crimes.
 
If I hack into the records of the Witness Protection Program and release the new identities of all those involved, it’s still putting them in danger, even if the feds manage to keep them from being hunted down and murdered.

But then again, you are probably disappointed the Taliban failed to conduct another murder spree and eliminate the “collaborators”.

No one needs to know the identity of Afghans working against the Taliban. Deluded European fanboys need to figure that out.
The Trump government are in bed with the Taliban now. Didn't you know?
 
The Trump government are in bed with the Taliban now. Didn't you know?

Negotiating with the Taliban isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it’s far from “being in bed with them.”
 
Negotiating with the Taliban isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it’s far from “being in bed with them.”
The Trump government is actually negotiating with these terrorists who have murdered Americans for years. It is a capitulation to terrorism. Shame on Trump and his supporters.
 
The Trump government is actually negotiating with these terrorists who have murdered Americans for years. It is a capitulation to terrorism. Shame on Trump and his supporters.

Yep. But that has nothing to do with that narcissistic twit Assange.

Are you finished with the empty talking points?
 
You need a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to a hatchet job done by the U.S. government on a whistle blower.
A) This is not healthy skepticism, this is sycophantism; B) You have displayed an amateurish understanding of how the First Amendment works. I suspect it is a matter of political perspective rather than genuine understanding of the issues, so I will not hold that against you, but I will ignore the rest of this childishness.

Thanks.
 
Yep. But that has nothing to do with that narcissistic twit Assange.

Are you finished with the empty talking points?
Julian Assange spilled the beans before the Americans capitulated to the Taliban terrorists. Consider the 2,355 American deaths in Afghanistan and the 20,719 maimed and wounded. Now witness the Trump government quitting with their tails between their legs and signing a peace treaty with the Taliban of all creatures. What an appalling sight.
 
A) This is not healthy skepticism, this is sycophantism; B) You have displayed an amateurish understanding of how the First Amendment works. I suspect it is a matter of political perspective rather than genuine understanding of the issues, so I will not hold that against you, but I will ignore the rest of this childishness.

Thanks.
Thank-you for your condescending magnanimity, I'm sure.
 
I do not give two shits about Assange.....but I am worried about his cat.
 
Thank-you for your condescending magnanimity, I'm sure.
You're most welcome. I've not found your previous contributions so forgettable.
 
Julian Assange spilled the beans before the Americans capitulated to the Taliban terrorists. Consider the 2,355 American deaths in Afghanistan and the 20,719 maimed and wounded. Now witness the Trump government quitting with their tails between their legs and signing a peace treaty with the Taliban of all creatures. What an appalling sight.

Oh look, more empty posturing. Not sure why you think I approve of Trump’s “capitulation” but I’m assuming it’s because Assange fanboys think anyone who points out what a scumbag their hero is is “far right”.

Here’s a hint. It’s a lot more effective to pretend you care about Afghanistan before you hand wave away Assange deliberately exposing the identities of Afghans working against the Taliban.
 
Your comparison to a personal bank account does not make sense.
That isn't the point of the metaphor. It's about the distinction between a whistle-blower releasing material that is directly relevant to alleged crimes and someone releasing vast tranches of largely irrelevant material to get more attention or make more money.
 
Oh look, more empty posturing. Not sure why you think I approve of Trump’s “capitulation” but I’m assuming it’s because Assange fanboys think anyone who points out what a scumbag their hero is is “far right”.

Here’s a hint. It’s a lot more effective to pretend you care about Afghanistan before you hand wave away Assange deliberately exposing the identities of Afghans working against the Taliban.
The U.S. government is not working against the Taliban these days.
 
That isn't the point of the metaphor. It's about the distinction between a whistle-blower releasing material that is directly relevant to alleged crimes and someone releasing vast tranches of largely irrelevant material to get more attention or make more money.
The United States government vacuums up huge trenches of internet activity on its citizens which is largely irrelevant until someone is targeted by the FBI or CIA. Do be careful, now.
 
The U.S. government is not working against the Taliban these days.

Other than all the operations of the Afghan government against the Taliban, which we continue to support; and intelligence support; and air strikes.....

Perhaps you should actually learn the facts instead of focusing on meaningless one liners.
 
Your insult is crushing.
I think it is important for everyone, myself included, to accept legitimate criticism with grace. If you note, historically, we're in agreement on many subjects. That's why I find your bullheaded support of Assange so puzzling. He's NOT the principled hero you portray. Do you concede is self-aggrandizing? That his "disclosures" are one-sided (suspiciously non-critical of Russia or Putin)? Do you dispute his 2016 disclosures were coordinated with Russian intelligence? If you can't honestly assess those points, your assertions are not credible. It's not about your ego or mine, it's about reasonableness.
 
The extradition trial of Julienne Assange is proceeding but you would never know that unless you follow the independent media reports. The mainstream media including the five newspapers which partnered with and benefited from the Wikileaks leaks are all but mum on the issue. The US Justice Department has introduced a whole new raft of charges which have been accepted by the court even though the deadline for filing such charges is long past. There is procedural harassment of defence witness being reported but again the mainstream media is silent.

Regardless of what you think about Mr. Assange, he has a right to fair due process, but that seems to be being denied to him and his legal team. The court of public opinion has been stifled so there is no countervailing force to check what growingly seems to be becoming a kangaroo court.



Much of the media is seemingly complicit in ending the media's own legal protections collectively known as the freedom of the press. These are sad times for journalism and a springtime for inchoate authoritarianism in the West. The Rule of Law is in a shambles.

Cheers and be well.
Evilroddy.
 
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Regardless of what you think about Mr. Assange, he has a right to fair due process, but that seems to be being denied to him and his legal team. The court of public opinion has been stifled so there is no countervailing force to check what growingly seems to be becoming a kangaroo court.
Here's an alternative theory, my friend. The Barr DoJ may want his extradition so that Trump can pardon him before leaving office.
 
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