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

nbcnews.com

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

#671

Post by kome »

tim333 wrote: post #596
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.

Yeah Afghans too "Well, they're informants," Assange replied. "So, if they get killed, they've got it coming to them. They deserve it." https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/18/julian... I'm ambivalent about his jailing. If you are going to get heroic people killed then you can't cry too much if you get jailed a bit.

Well, his words were unfortunate, but considering how the Americans left Afghanistan in total chaos a few years ago is even more unfortunate, to put it mildly. They threw most of their allies and collaborators under the bus. The American government has NO moral superiority. And they just need to shut up.

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

#672

Post by thereddaikon »

rand846633 wrote: post #514
hn_throwaway_69 wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>innocent until proven guilty and all that To be fair, he was refusing to face trial. And he is expected to plead guilty, so he isn't innocent. That said, there may be legitimate questions about whether the United States should be entitled to exercise jurisdiction over foreign nationals who are not physically present in the jurisdiction for national security offences.

Did the US army or its participating individuals ever get charged for killing the “collateral murder” Reuters journalists? Or for doing the same to the proximate other civilians? Or for covering it all up? The question who is guilty by a US court does not determine the guilt of an individual in any relevant or moral way under these extreme circumstances. It just indicates if you are part of the system or if you rathe…

Definitely whataboutism, but the crew were investigated before the leak and it was found that the reporters were with armed fighters and were not distinguishable as civilian reporters. While its unfortunate, walking around in an active warzone with armed combatants and not taking steps to clearly identify yourself as a non combatant isn't wise. These things happen in war. They were not intentionally targeted and they weren't murdered. War reporters know the risk they are taking on and this is why they usually clearly mark themselves as press.

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

#673

Post by PawgerZ »

vidarh wrote: post #450
ryan_lane wrote: post #334

[flagged]

He has served more time in prison than he would if he had gone to Sweden and been convicted of outright rape. The sentencing guideline for rape in Sweden is 3-6 years in prison, or at most 4 years (I can't find a minimum) for "negligent rape", and even if convicted for everything he was alleged to have done, Swedish practice in rape cases would mean there's no chance he'd have gotten anywhere close to maximum sentenc…

Swedish court would have imposed a swift extradition to the United States.

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

#674

Post by tim333 »

dmje wrote: post #404
tetris11 wrote: post #327

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> At least the current Labour leader strikes me as a decent man with some actual principles and backbone and this would fundamentally be a decent thing to do. (massive sidetrack, but I can't let this sentence go unpunished) The current labour leader is the lamest duck in a group of wet blankets. His policies revolve around not being as corrupt as the Tories whilst doing virtually nothing else to better his constituen…

The question is whether his backbone will grow back once he's in power. I'm in two minds. In our house I'm of the opinion that Labour should go "Full Left" and be strong and confident about it; my wife thinks they should get in using whatever means possible (including the slightly pathetic not-very-left agenda they're currently sporting) and then hope they'll make proper changes once in. Let's see what 4th July bring…

I'm not sure "get in using whatever means possible" and then switch to policies the voters dislike is terribly democratic.

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

#675

Post by raxxorraxor »

jml78 wrote: post #601

My issue is that he was influenced by Russia. Aka they threatened his life and he then proceeded to leak information about the US but keep Russian secrets. I mean I don’t blame him for not wanting to be murdered by Russia but he isn’t a freedom fighter when he only leaks things for countries that don’t directly threaten his life.

Plainly said, the Russia story was mostly for gullible people to be distracted from the failings and sins of their own government.

Not saying Russia doesn't engage in propaganda attempts, but they are more or less irrelevant for any domestic discussion then and now.

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

#676

Post by olalonde »

moffkalast wrote: post #542
squarefoot wrote: post #518

> JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE No, he is not. Nobody can go through what he has been forced to suffer in all those years without lasting consequences that can't be undone: years of his life have been taken away, his health has been damaged, his family has been hit as well. He may be free to roam around, but he's not the same person anymore. I don't see any happy ending here, especially if there are no consequences for the…

Yeah, 5 years in a 2x3m cell with total social isolation? People almost went mad locking down 2 months during covid an they had internet. I doubt he'll ever be the same, or even a functioning person again.

Why was he put in isolation? Seems harsh, especially given that he is not a violent criminal.

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

#677

Post by me_me_me »

colechristensen wrote: post #650
pydry wrote: post #556

[flagged]

I think Snowden is a hero who deserves a medal from the president. I think Assange deserves what he got. The differences in what they did and how make the distinction. Snowden saw something the public needed to know and filtered it through a journalist who did everything reasonable to filter and publish what the public needed to know. And the public really did need to know it. Assange tried to find anything and every…

huh? Wikileaks used all reputable journals/newspapers to vet and publish doc that would ensure no soldiers or civiliands will be hurt by the disclousre.

How is that "fuck the system" ?

How is trying to uncover warcrimes a bad thing?

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

#678

Post by sobellian »

jillesvangurp wrote: post #310

Good, this was getting majorly embarrassing for all countries still involved with this legal mess. The man dying in prison stuck in legal limbo without any conviction whatsoever (innocent until proven guilty and all that) would have been a PR disaster for the UK. And of course there's also the issue that the UK is very likely to get a new government that would have likely been leaning to just letting the man go in an…

In the USA defendants are guaranteed the right to a speedy trial. I'm sure Sweden has similar protections. Assange denied himself that right by evading authorities and fighting extradition. The former is wholly inexcusable. The latter is his right, but to then complain about not receiving a trial places the justice system in a catch-22.

I do think it's right to accept a guilty plea and time served, but it's hardly a story of exoneration for Assange.

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