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Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

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Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#51
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should judge a people if they fancy themsevles a democracy (especially if they think their democracy is so good it deserves to be "exported" to other countries!)

and should you judge the people if they fancy themselves a federal republic?

I see what you are saying. Technically we are a federal republic but that doesn't matter in this particular argument. We (US) are boasting at being a democracy to the rest of the world. In the propaganda domain we are a democracy. Our citizens have the potential of affecting the political establishmnt through voting.

This comes in constrast to say North Korea, China or Lybia. If their government does something outrageous, one can blame the people to some extent, but they should also get plenty of slack since standing up and otherthrowing the leadership would take a lot lives, blood, and suffering. It is not just a walk to the voting booth.

In general one can argue that the people of a country should be the responsability for their government's action in proportion to their ability to influence that government's actions.

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#52
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should judge a people if they fancy themsevles a democracy (especially if they think their democracy is so good it deserves to be "exported" to other countries!)

and should you judge the people if they fancy themselves a federal republic?

Constitutional republics are a form of democracy.

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? You mean with a complete and utter lack of success? Zing! edit: you know, when someone who is cited as a possible presidential candidate reflexively reaches for an extra-judicial solution to resolve the releasing of state information by a foreign whistleblower then ... what? i don't know, but it's very telling. the road back towards the rule of law is going to be long and difficult one.

Last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a press meeting that Wikileaks should be labeled a terrorist organization. I find it frightening that the government has reached a point that they will label anyone they don't like as a terrorist so that they can bypass the legal system. I didn't realize that exposing information could be an act of terror, but Clinton would like to have you believe so. Edit: I di…

"Last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a press meeting that Wikileaks should be labeled a terrorist organization."

[citation needed]

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#54
post #46
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for the sloppy reference. I think it was in "The History Channel". They described the American invasion to mexico in about five seconds just showing how the U.S. suddenly grew. The show was very entertaining but skipped on one of the main passages of history.

"one of the main passages of history." A small correction of perspective: it's the history of two countries, and it's only a major passage for one of them. This asymmetry is one of the main reasons of international disputes.

Thanks for your reply. I know you mean well. I could argue that it is the history of California, and it is important just because of the relevance of California to the world.

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#55

What happens when he releases information that is sensitive to Ecuador's interests?

Ecuador is not known for its law abiding practices, it will not be smart for Mr Asange to live there. It will be easy to the government of Ecuador or anyone with some power to get him in shit trouble down there.

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#56
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't call it widespread hatred. I certainly didn't see any evidence of hatred towards individual Americans. It's more a widespread opinion that the United States is at best questionably moral. There are certainly many who think it is evil, and if you ask the average person on the street they'd probably have mostly negative feelings towards the US. I haven't been to the Middle East, but I imagine the sentiment t…

I asked if you have lived in or traveled in Latin America, but you didn't answer me. Does that mean you have not actually been here? I ask you because I do, in fact, live in Latin America and my experience has not been what you describe. > People have an odd way of resenting you when you back brutal dictators Actually people tend to first resent the brutal dictators themselves. The person paying the hit man isn't usu…

I've spent time in Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. I never claimed Latin Americans blame the US for all the things that the juntas did, merely that there's a fairly strong undercurrent of resentment towards the US there.

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#57
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In fact, the one constant in South America is how much they hate the US I am not sure where you have been or what you have experienced, but I wouldn't call it a constant. I never noticed this widespread hatred towards the US you mention in Brazil, Argentina or Chile. I understand most of the northern Latin America may harbor strong negative feelings towards the US, but I can tell you Brazilians really don't care th…

Sorry, you're correct. I was inaccurate with my claim. The antipathy towards the US is much stronger in Central America and the Andean regions (Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, etc) As for being childish, the US has done a whole lot to earn that enmity. I'd recommend reading Open veins of Latin America , by Eduardo Galeano. It's a difficult read, due in no small part to the author's support of the Cuban Revolution and Castro'…

[deleted]

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? You mean with a complete and utter lack of success? Zing! edit: you know, when someone who is cited as a possible presidential candidate reflexively reaches for an extra-judicial solution to resolve the releasing of state information by a foreign whistleblower then ... what? i don't know, but it's very telling. the road back towards the rule of law is going to be long and difficult one.

Last night, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a press meeting that Wikileaks should be labeled a terrorist organization. I find it frightening that the government has reached a point that they will label anyone they don't like as a terrorist so that they can bypass the legal system. I didn't realize that exposing information could be an act of terror, but Clinton would like to have you believe so. Edit: I di…

So, Clinton did not say in a press meeting that Wikileaks should be labeled a terrorist organization?

Re: Ecuador offers WikiLeak's founder Assange residency, no questions asked

#60
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and should you judge the people if they fancy themselves a federal republic?

I see what you are saying. Technically we are a federal republic but that doesn't matter in this particular argument. We (US) are boasting at being a democracy to the rest of the world. In the propaganda domain we are a democracy. Our citizens have the potential of affecting the political establishmnt through voting. This comes in constrast to say North Korea, China or Lybia. If their government does something outrag…

It's only one walk to the voting booth if there's an alternative available to vote for. Significant changes in US politics have cost lives, blood, and suffering.
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