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Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

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Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#901

Post by wussboy »

calf wrote: post #889
tootie wrote: post #811

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read some Steven Pinker. Your observations about our present state are not wrong, but seriously consider every other point in human history and realize we are not worse off in any measurable way. In fact, much better.

How is that different than my dad saying the cliche "Back in the day we had it much worse?" It's just a book to make the same conservative point. Since when did any child of a parent hearing that ("Back in the day, we didn't have food / shelter / etc.") respond in agreement? Talking about how much worse things were back then is beside the point, because it is the wrong category of comparison to make. It just shows th…

It is different because one is a human mind falling prey to selective memory and sympathy, and Pinker's book is about facts and data.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#902

Post by metabagel »

grumple wrote: post #882
nikkwong wrote: post #850

Is anyone else here surprised that the reaction to him being free is so overwhelmingly positive? Assange certainly did great work to reveal government corruption and abuses of power. At the same time, some state secrets are best kept secret for national interests and Assange seemed to show a lack of regard for protecting this type of information. It often seemed that he was working in his own self interest rather tha…

Same. Assange was an actor for Russia, and acted against American interests, whether by design or by accident. He played a role in the election of Trump and in the weakening of US standing and intelligence. This soft-handed approach towards anti-American behavior is the culmination of multiple movements in the post-Soviet era where the remnants of Soviet-sponsored communists and other home-grown agitators align thems…

> These groups have a lot of influence in the left in general, and in the current US administration, so it's not surprising that now is the time that Assange gets a friendly deal.

You lost me there. Assange got a deal because the prosecution needed a deal to resolve the case. They didn't do it out of the kindness of their heart, nor because there was any pressure from the administration to do Assange a favor.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#903

Post by CalChris »

oska wrote: post #891
pipes wrote: post #482

My view of him changed when I saw a recording of him in a documentary saying that murdered Iraqi translators who worked with the US military got what they deserved for working with the enemy.

There is no such recording.

"Well, they're informants," Assange replied. "So, if they get killed, they've got it coming to them. They deserve it."

https://archive.is/rSL9K

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#904

Post by gosub100 »

jfax wrote: post #777
drojas wrote: post #764

This is almost bringing me to tears today. I am happy he's finally going to be free but I am still in deep sadness because this is not the world we are supposed to living in. With all of our knowledge and technology we are still doing horrible things as a civilization and we have lost control of our leadership. This scares me a lot because it is a growing problem and every day it seems like humanity is losing more an…

This is beautifully articulated. I myself thought for a long time that if the day ever came that Assange walks free, I'd cry, but instead I feel a strange emptiness inside. The world isn't the one I'd imagined for this day.

I still remember the day they arrested him and how awful it felt. He is an incredibly strong person to withstand that level of isolation and see the light of day.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#905

Post by alach11 »

CalChris wrote: post #903
oska wrote: post #891

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such recording.

"Well, they're informants," Assange replied. "So, if they get killed, they've got it coming to them. They deserve it." https://archive.is/rSL9K

This is a quote, not a recording. Assange disputes the accuracy of the quote.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#906

Post by gosub100 »

tootie wrote: post #811
drojas wrote: post #764

This is almost bringing me to tears today. I am happy he's finally going to be free but I am still in deep sadness because this is not the world we are supposed to living in. With all of our knowledge and technology we are still doing horrible things as a civilization and we have lost control of our leadership. This scares me a lot because it is a growing problem and every day it seems like humanity is losing more an…

Read some Steven Pinker. Your observations about our present state are not wrong, but seriously consider every other point in human history and realize we are not worse off in any measurable way. In fact, much better.

I see two sides:

- we're better off because there is less human suffering "per capita" for lack of a better word.

- we're worse off because technology has allowed us all to instantly see and learn about every human (and animal) atrocity anywhere in the world.

I'm sure if I keyed up a gore site right now I could find the latest mexican cartel atrocity, or a necklacing in Africa, or someone somewhere else being cruelly hurt. But in the 1950s you had to pay for a paper which was excessively rate-limited and narrow in scope.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#907

Post by KobeQueef »

tene wrote: post #114
chaoskitty wrote: post #110

It amazes me that so many people care more about the act of whistleblowing, which informs us, the citizens, about what our governments are doing that's illegal, than about the illegal activities themselves. What does that say about those people? Are they easily led by emotion? They certainly don't care about the rule of law, if breaking the law by others can so easily be ignored. They aren't particularly patriotic, i…

You've got it exactly right, many people in the US care far more about compliance with and respect for authority than they do about rule of law.

[dead]

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#908

Post by RoyalHenOil »

madaxe_again wrote: post #434
DaoVeles wrote: post #351

All around my neighborhood is the graffiti of "Free Assange, Oz hero". Just this morning I saw a large amount of it in a new place. Was thinking "I really hope one day it happens but I am doubtful". And then I just saw this... wow! I am so glad to be wrong, to see my pessimistic side be completely wrong. Julian is free!

What’s the actual view on him in oz? We’ve got exiled Aussie politicians here in the U.K. saying that he’s universally reviled, and that nobody even sees him as a “real” Australian, and that Australians will never forgive him for violating their privacy (oh, the bleeding irony). No alternate viewpoints, looks like 100% of sampled Australians hate him?

My general impression is that Australians vary between neutral (they don't know and don't care what he did) to positive toward him.

Where I live (way out in the boonies), many people have told me that they have a lot of admiration for him. In some spaces in Melbourne, he seems to almost have a cult following.

I am sure he has his detractors in Australia but, so far, I have either not met any in person or they have kept their opinions to themselves.

I think politicians are more likely to dislike him than the general public does, which makes sense; after all, he targeted politicians and policy decisions.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#909

Post by Nasrudith »

grumple wrote: post #882
nikkwong wrote: post #850

Is anyone else here surprised that the reaction to him being free is so overwhelmingly positive? Assange certainly did great work to reveal government corruption and abuses of power. At the same time, some state secrets are best kept secret for national interests and Assange seemed to show a lack of regard for protecting this type of information. It often seemed that he was working in his own self interest rather tha…

Same. Assange was an actor for Russia, and acted against American interests, whether by design or by accident. He played a role in the election of Trump and in the weakening of US standing and intelligence. This soft-handed approach towards anti-American behavior is the culmination of multiple movements in the post-Soviet era where the remnants of Soviet-sponsored communists and other home-grown agitators align thems…

Try not being a corrupt empire for a change? Unthinkable I know, choosing to not be guilty of horrible crimes for a change! So long as they engage in fucked up shit and cover it up there will be reactions against it in one form or another. Whistleblowers are the most benign form, and themselves are the result of internal channels just being honeypots instead of policing themselves. If they truly cared for their precious opsec they would have robust internal investigations instead of retaliation.

Re: Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free

#910

Post by handity »

CalChris wrote: post #903
oska wrote: post #891

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such recording.

"Well, they're informants," Assange replied. "So, if they get killed, they've got it coming to them. They deserve it." https://archive.is/rSL9K

That's not a recording. I'm willing to accept he said something similar but the linked article appears to be a hitpiece with quite a lot of motivation to stretch the truth.
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