Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

news.yahoo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 282 posts

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#41

Post by ActorNightly »

busterarm wrote: post #37
ch4s3 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't forget that he wrote the bill that became the Patriot Act.

and most of the War on Drugs... He might just be the most loathsome human being we've ever elected President. Although McCain would have been worse had he ever made it. In fact, Biden and McCain have always been my go-to examples of the worst that America has to offer and like cockroaches they always managed to hang on.

Just so everyone is clear, you think Trump would have been the better choice than Biden?

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#42

Post by Levitz »

sonotathrowaway wrote: post #34
vorpalhex wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That Assange is indeed compromised by foreign intelligence but is still able to receive exfiltrated American intelligence.

You’re unfortunately being downvoted because you are not toeing the HN crowd line that Assange is a hero. But the plain truth is he took a TV deal (bribe) from Russian state media[0] in exchange for suppressing whistleblowers leaking Russian involvement in Syria[1], and doesn’t even bother to deny that he’s been coopted by Putin[2] when confronted. He is very motivated to leak as much damaging information he can on A…

I'm ready and willing to accept that Assange is by no means unbiased, thing is, I don't really care.

I know that Russia has enormous corruption, as a matter of fact I don't even try to understand the degree and inner workings of said corruption and I very much doubt that it being public would really improve anything, that is, sadly, par for the course regarding Russia.

I care that when confronted with some ugly truths, a good deal of the American public immediately sided with authoritarianism because it was inconvenient for them to do otherwise, going all the way to conspiracy theories (pee tape, Russian prostitutes etc) and deep into propaganda, It's not "blackmail", it's now "kompromat", it's not "geopolitics" it's "realpolitik", it's not just "the elite", it's "Russian Oligarchs", there is this effort of antagonization, of alienation that both disgusts and scares me, and I think that's a way bigger problem than anything related Assange himself.

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#43

Post by seaourfreed »

jeroenhd wrote: post #25
hktntbvuvu wrote: post #5

While we are at it, is Biden going to pardon Snowden?

As an outsider, I don't expect the American government to ever pardon people like him. Presidents come and go but they all play nicely with the military powers that remain after their terms. When presidents promise to do things the rest it the government doesn't like, those promises only get broken. Trump didn't complete his wall, Obama didn't close Guantanamo Bay, and so on. Presidents aren't kings, their actions wi…

Establishment Democrats hate Assange. Assange published things that hurt the Hillary / 2016 Democrat elections.

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#44

Post by atatatat »

jeroenhd wrote: post #25
hktntbvuvu wrote: post #5

While we are at it, is Biden going to pardon Snowden?

As an outsider, I don't expect the American government to ever pardon people like him. Presidents come and go but they all play nicely with the military powers that remain after their terms. When presidents promise to do things the rest it the government doesn't like, those promises only get broken. Trump didn't complete his wall, Obama didn't close Guantanamo Bay, and so on. Presidents aren't kings, their actions wi…

"rest of the government"

No need to steer away from "deep state" so hard you go hyperbolic.

Maybe use "Multiple competing power cabals", if you prefer?

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#45

Post by setpatchaddress »

seaourfreed wrote: post #43
jeroenhd wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an outsider, I don't expect the American government to ever pardon people like him. Presidents come and go but they all play nicely with the military powers that remain after their terms. When presidents promise to do things the rest it the government doesn't like, those promises only get broken. Trump didn't complete his wall, Obama didn't close Guantanamo Bay, and so on. Presidents aren't kings, their actions wi…

Establishment Democrats hate Assange. Assange published things that hurt the Hillary / 2016 Democrat elections.

It’s not just “Establishment Democrats”. He literally acted as a stooge for the Russian government in publishing DNC emails but suppressing damaging information on Republicans.

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#46

Post by ben_w »

croes wrote: post #24

>Discussions over kidnapping or killing Assange occurred “at the highest levels” of the Trump administration, said a former senior counterintelligence official. “There seemed to be no boundaries.” No idea why Assange feared to be extradited from Sweden to the USA./s

The “to the USA” part is separate from the “from Sweden” part. He’s currently fighting an attempt to go to the USA from the UK, so it’s not like the country of origin is making much difference IMO.

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#47

Post by throwaway210222 »

setpatchaddress wrote: post #45
seaourfreed wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Establishment Democrats hate Assange. Assange published things that hurt the Hillary / 2016 Democrat elections.

It’s not just “Establishment Democrats”. He literally acted as a stooge for the Russian government in publishing DNC emails but suppressing damaging information on Republicans.

Surely, as a non-American he could chose any side he felt like?

Much like I can - randomly or otherwise - choose any faction in the Nigerian elections.

Or is their some planet-wide law that he fell under?

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#48

Post by fit2rule »

ActorNightly wrote: post #41
busterarm wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and most of the War on Drugs... He might just be the most loathsome human being we've ever elected President. Although McCain would have been worse had he ever made it. In fact, Biden and McCain have always been my go-to examples of the worst that America has to offer and like cockroaches they always managed to hang on.

Just so everyone is clear, you think Trump would have been the better choice than Biden?

Biden was repugnant way before Trump entered the picture.

Re: Former U.S. officials describe details of the CIA’s proposals to abduct Assange

#49

Post by ben_w »

roenxi wrote: post #27
codedokode wrote: post #23

> Some senior officials inside the CIA and the Trump administration even discussed killing Assange, going so far as to request “sketches” or “options” for how to assassinate him. > One of those officials said he was briefed on a spring 2017 meeting in which the president asked whether the CIA could assassinate Assange and provide him “options” for how to do so. I don't understand how this can be legal. Cannot such a…

Part of the government's job is to have a plan to kill every/anyone. Or if there are too many people to kill efficiently, starve them in to compliance (which is the plan with a heavy sanctions regime). They are not nice people, but it isn't illegal.

I’m a long way from understanding international law, but I thought one of the principles of Westphalian sovereignty was that the highest power of a nation was its own government and never a different government?

It might not be illegal under US law, but London isn’t in the USA.

Post reply on HN