If for anything, I hope he wins so he can go back outside, and live a decent life.
You don't want him to stand trial first?
Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
31–40 of 119 posts
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#32If for anything, I hope he wins so he can go back outside, and live a decent life.
You don't want him to stand trial first?
The charges were already dropped, then the prosecutor mysteriously replaced and the case reopened. The whole thing is a farce so there's no reason to bother with any trial.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#33Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#34Nice idea. Become a Senator and try for diplomatic immunity. Walk out of the Ecuadorian Embassy and wave goodbye to the police who have been waiting for him for the last umpteen months. The legal wrangling could become quite complicated if he succeeded. If the voters in Oz realise how annoyed the UK government would be if he did this then that would help his odds even more. For US residents I'll point out that Senate…
It'll be an uphill battle, as I can't see him doing a preference deal[1] with a major party. The Greens might prefer him, but I can't see the two major parties doing so. It will be a publicity coup though.
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[1] Explanation: A preference deal means a party agrees to place another party further up it's how-to-vote card, the order usually being determined by what the party thinks will deliver the most self benefit. In the Australian Senate, voters can either indicate their own preferences by numbering every square (typically 150 of them) in the bottom section of the ballot paper, or a single mark "above the line" in the top section, meaning they agree to vote according to the party's how-to-vote card. Most people do the latter, as it is quicker, requires less thinking and is far less arduous (a single number wrong means your vote is informal, and may not be counted). Consequently preference deals are key for minor candidates.
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Edit: fixed error. Federal elections are not optional preferential.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't want him to stand trial first?
The charges were already dropped, then the prosecutor mysteriously replaced and the case reopened. The whole thing is a farce so there's no reason to bother with any trial.
Nothing mysterious going on here. It's not uncommon for another prosecutor to reopen a case if there are reasonable grounds for it.
You can't seriously argue that someone who is accused of rape should just be set free like that. Guilty or not he should stand trial.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#36i'm a green voter but i'd vote for assange in the senate - because he at least stands up for what he believes should be said. the other two main parties in oz are competing with each other to attract the swinging 20% that will give them the election. so they do not care about their electoral base (don't forget we have compulsory voting here, and long may it reign - none of that attracting younger voters crap we had to endure in the UK in 2004).
btw, i believe from what i've read that the charges against assange in sweden are trumped up. the US has put pressure on sweden to deliver another 'example' of how powerful they are.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#37I'd almost respect this effort more if it were part of a plan to get diplomatic immunity, as suggested by others. But otherwise, this should spell the end of Assange as a "folk hero" in some corners of the digital world. I suspect that he could accomplish much more in his Wikileaks capacity than he ever could as a politician.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#38So far as I can make out ... he can't stand. Australian Constitution, s16: "The qualification of a senator shall be the same as those of a member of the House of Representatives." s34(i): "... must be an elector entitled to vote at the election of members of the House of Representatives, or a person qualified to become such an elector ..." Australians are allowed to be overseas electors only if they intend to return…
Antony Green wrote a posting on this issue (and Assange's general chances of being elected) here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2012/12/what-chance-of-j...
The short of it is that being qualified to become such an elector is a broader category than actually being on the electoral roll - you don't need to be on the roll to run for the Senate, just meet the basic requirements in S93.
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#39Summary: Weak my mom says I'm cool hit-piece by AAP, Australian Associated Press. AAP is 90% owned by News Ltd and Fairfax, the two major publishers in the country, who promote it as a national organization but have a massive commercial interest in the media status quo. The media status quo is threatened by Assange, who has been extremely vocal about the failures of journalism and would presumably seek to re-regulate…
"back into"? Rose-coloured glasses perhaps?
Re: Julian Assange to run for Australian Senate
#40If for anything, I hope he wins so he can go back outside, and live a decent life.
He could do that right now.