What I've wanted for Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning, and if Obama would have done it before leaving office, it would have earned him infinite respect: Try them, possibly even find them guilty of something, but also award them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What these people have done is probably illegal, but it is unquestionably about the most American, patriotic act you could commit. Sp…
Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
171–180 of 286 posts
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#172Earlier quoted context omitted.
in the US, the left uses liberal institutions because being far left is tolerated by liberal society in a way that being far right is not
Could you clarify - are you saying that being far right isn’t tolerated in the US? Or that being far right isn’t tolerated by liberal society in the US?
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#173Hopefully he wasn't bullshitting with those insurance files. I have been waiting for some quality leak drama for a long long time now.
But let's say he had some such files, release them and he has nothing.
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#174This is less a news story than a coat rack Greenwald uses to hang a bunch of loosely-related political arguments he wants to make: * That Ecuador under Moreno is subservient to western powers, this according in part to Correa, who ran the previous Ecuadorian administration, which was widely considered one of the most corrupt in the western hemisphere (I have no idea if Moreno's was as well). OK? None of us are equipp…
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#175Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#176Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't downvote, but in my mind to engage with this question is to lend it legitimacy. The debate then is unwinnable. See, if we frame our discussion on your terms (Was he a willing conspirator with Russia and Putin or merely a fool) then anyone with the beliefs like say, "Assange did the world some good by releasing documents the US government didn't want released" or "Assange was a powerful force for government tr…
How is the question illegitimate? I don't think it is controversial to say that Wikileaks was part of Russias plan to influence US politics. (Whether they were a unwilling or willing participant is immaterial at the moment). If simply establishing that as a fact makes your side of the debate "lost" and "unwinnable", maybe that means you should rethink why you fall on that side of the debate.
My comment mostly reflects how interesting I find it that people can justify anything they like based on their previous beliefs, cherry-picking facts that suit what they'd prefer to believe.
I am guilty of this too, we all are. I try to attack my own beliefs by reading and attempting to understand other points of view, but I'm not super-human, I have blind spots.
One thing I'm somewhat good at is seeing how language can frame things in such a way to make the counter-argument more difficult. Its all about perception, because language is so imprecise.
For example, You said
>...Wikileaks was part of Russias plan to influence US politics
That is likely true! But your point could be taken to mean that Wikileaks was complicit in this plan. It could be taken to mean a whole lot of things, and while we're debating the veracity of those things we don't even get to debate on other things, such as the content of the leaks, and about the US government's persistent attack on whistleblowers.
Indeed, it frames the mind in such a way as to ponder whether the US's desire to prosecute Assange is proper given the circumstances.
Do you see what I'm trying to say? I may be pretty good at picking up on the nuances of speech but I'm piss poor at explaing myself.
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
>He also wasn't charged with rape He couldn't be charged without first being arrested. That's why Sweden issued the EAW.
Again: the EAW was to arrest Assange for questioning .
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#178What I've wanted for Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning, and if Obama would have done it before leaving office, it would have earned him infinite respect: Try them, possibly even find them guilty of something, but also award them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What these people have done is probably illegal, but it is unquestionably about the most American, patriotic act you could commit. Sp…
Turning yourself into a tyrannical government is the most unpatriotic thing you can do.
And, you know, Gandhi.
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
>Literally (2): in effect : virtually —used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible As you say, this whole thread is pretty heavy. Not really in a thoughtful way, sadly. That said, I love your "literally literally". Is it meant to help the reader understand that you mean "literally" in its original form rather than its recently updated definition? :)
Re: Ecuador will hand over Julian Assange to the UK
#180What I've wanted for Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning, and if Obama would have done it before leaving office, it would have earned him infinite respect: Try them, possibly even find them guilty of something, but also award them with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. What these people have done is probably illegal, but it is unquestionably about the most American, patriotic act you could commit. Sp…