Julian Assange arrested in London • Hacker News Board

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#651

Post by pdabbadabba » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

rofo1 wrote: post #519

black_puppydog wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, really interesting to see how there was some sort of slow-motion character assassination over the years. Put him under pressure, wait for him to lash out, portray him as a raging lunatic and generally bad person. He went from an unsympathetic yet credible figure to one that's hard to side with for virtually anyone. It's weird that for the most part, all his "crazy talk" has pretty much held up so far. I hope he…

> He went from an unsympathetic yet credible figure to one that's hard to side with for virtually anyone. The MO is shoot the messenger. As old as the hills. We aren't discussing what Wikileaks leaked anymore. We are discussing Julian Assange's cats. See how they shifted our attention? That's the power of a propaganda - eventually, it will work. They just have to keep at it, and they did. Nobody even disputed what wa…

> We aren't discussing what Wikileaks leaked anymore. We are discussing Julian Assange's cats. See how they shifted our attention? That's the power of a propaganda - eventually, it will work. They just have to keep at it, and they did.

This is only true, if at all, today, on this forum. The mainstream press has been talking about Hillary's emails (and how they were obtained, and other fallout) for literally years now.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#652

Post by hajile » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

decoyworker wrote: post #465

dandare wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only does my post appeal to emotion, it openly appeals to emotion. On the other hand, your post uses the appeal to middle ground fallacy. If your list of priorities starts with anything other than stopping the routine torture of children, then your grand scheme of things is probably evil.

What if a child torturer is helping you save other lives and end the war sooner thus saving innumerable lives? Do you see how torture is bad but there are other variables?

Fighting evil with evil simply makes two monsters instead of one.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#653

Post by isostatic » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:57 PM UTC

zug_zug wrote: post #581

techntoke wrote: post #453

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is ridiculous. No one is talking about death penalty except people trying to inflame the situation.

Eh, how can you know that? The US government has two contradictory personalities. A justice personality that is procedural and fair, and a military/spy personality that executes via drone and sets up Guantanamo. Since the latter seems to think it owes no explanation to anyone of whatever it does (and moreover tries to use courts to hide its mistakes after the fact), who are you to say that it's above executing?

The latter group would have no qualms about assassinating anywhere, but they want it known that the U.S. punished Assange, not simply throw him under a bus.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

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Post by Tomte » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

garmaine wrote: post #164

fxbl0i wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What crimes did he commit? Honest question. I heard that someone accused him of being a rapist but then dropped the charges so I guess it was false. What else is there?

The state prosecutor accused him of being a rapist. The alleged victim didn't accuse him of anything and only went to the police in an attempt to contact him to tell him to be tested for STDs since the condom broke. The state prosecutor found a way to twist that into a rape charge under Sweden's laws, even though the purported victim disagreed. Those charges were later dropped. The only "crime" he committed was refus…

> The alleged victim didn't accuse him of anything and only went to the police in an attempt to contact him to tell him to be tested for STDs since the condom broke.

Strange how her lawyer today told the press that the victim hopes that Sweden re-opens the rape case. Definitely no ill will towards Assange, only concern for his health.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#655

Post by idlewords » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

jkaplowitz wrote: post #629

antt wrote: post #513

And be prepared for the 180 degree turn in the liberal circles when the Republicans try to get him executed. With friends like the Democrats do progressives really need enemies?

According to the article, the crime for which he'd be extradited has a maximum penalty of five years in prison, not death.

That beard deserves the death penalty, though.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#656

Post by ben_w » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

tokai wrote: post #601

ben_w wrote: post #529

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The ease by which the US can extradite him from the UK is precisely why I thought poorly of the claim that he felt his life was endangered by going to Sweden .

Sweden has a history of bending over backwards for the US. Such as the illegal arrests monocasa references, the raids on the pirate bay, and changing their laws on US recommendation.

From my perspective, the UK also has such a history.

It’s a bit like avoiding jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, but neglecting that the frying pan is full of oil until the oil catches fire and then being surprised that you’re on fire.

And then saying “see, I told you about the fire”.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#657

Post by smt88 » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:58 PM UTC

codedokode wrote: post #521

criley2 wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty shocking here to see pro-fascist comments like this which reward the Russian Intelligence operation called "Wikileaks" and its constant war against democracy, liberty and free elections in not just the U.S., but also Europe. Sometimes you have to wonder why folks this guy truly hate the U.S. and the West and side openly with mediocre spies involved in intelligence operations against his own home. But this…

Calling a mere website "a weapon of war" is a little overstated I think.

Newspapers have been weapons of war. It's not whether it's a "mere" website or not, but rather how widely its publications are spread and how credulous people are of them.

In the case of Wikileaks, it directly influenced the most consequential presidential election since FDR.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#658

Post by beat » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

hu3 wrote: post #530

Crosseye_Jack wrote: post #383

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> or have his ashes thrown into the sea the same way as they did with Osama bin Laden. The UK won't extradite if the death penality is on the cards. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/41/section/94

They might just let him rot in Guantanamo instead of executting. I don't know which one is worse.

They almost certainly can't send him to Gitmo, if he's been extradited on formal charges. That puts him in the hands of the regular legal system. What makes Gitmo a special case is that it's an end-run around both American and international law... prisoners there aren't in the American legal system and subject to awkward rights like habeus corpus and fair trial, but likewise aren't prisoners of war and subject to the Geneva Convention (which calls for freeing enemy soldiers as quickly as possible unless they are being charged with war crimes for an international tribunal, which is highly unusual).

This is why Gitmo is a shame on our national honor, but it also means Assange won't be going there.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#659

Post by idlewords » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

Salamat wrote: post #481

Any possible relation to the arrest of Assange? IMF board approves $4.2 bln financing deal with Ecuador March 11 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund’s executive board approved the $4.2 billion financing deal with Ecuador https://www.reuters.com/article/ecuador-imf/imf-board-approv...

Call me a patsy, but it seems more likely that Ecuador kicked him out of the embassy because it asked him not to do certain things as a condition of his living there, and he did those things.

Re: Julian Assange arrested in London

#660

Post by specialist » Thu, Apr 11, 2019, 1:59 PM UTC

dao- wrote: post #294

dijit wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"UK has no sovereignty!" "UK must resist" "Resist this attempt by the Trump administration" and something else when he's in the van which I can't make out with people talking over it.

> "Resist this attempt by the Trump administration" Funny. Trump has said he loves WikiLeaks, and likely has no interest in Assange getting extradited to the US.

I think in the USA is exactly where Trump wants Assange.

I'm reminded of Bush Sr keeping Panama's President Manuel Noriega in cold storage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Noriega#Prosecution_in_...