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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

#681

Post by bigfudge »

jgord wrote: post #447
madaxe_again wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

He is a much beloved gentleman rogue. Invariably well-informed and well-spoken, even if somewhat self-centered or arrogant at times. For him and his family, Im glad hes free. Five years seems a pretty harsh sentence for publishing leaked information about governments behaving badly - isnt that what good journalists are supposed to do ?

They've been ruining his life for longer than five years haven't they?

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

#682

Post by igravious »

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…

> 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 any case. 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.

If you knew anything about British politics you'd know that this is horseshit.

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

#684

Post by frereubu »

shoo wrote: post #604
frereubu wrote: post #503

I'd encourage people to read this excellent piece in the London Review of Books by someone who was contracted to ghostwrite Assange's autobiography, and who initially felt very sympathetic towards the aims of Assange and Wikileaks: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v36/n05/andrew-o-hagan/ghost... I found it very insightful and nuanced when it comes to Assange and his motivations, presenting him as neither hero nor vill…

that is indeed an excellent read, thank you for sharing it

You're welcome. I dread these Assange threads on HN because they often seem to devolve into people shouting past each other, and this is the most thoughtful piece, with direct and lengthy access to Assange, that I've read.

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

#685

Post by tivert »

nemo44x wrote: post #631
tivert wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Considering he served 12 or so years I’m not sure he won anything. He didn't serve 12 years. He locked himself in his room for 7, then he actually served 5.

I think that qualifies. 12 years of no freedom. Happy he finally gets to move on with his life. A real brave journalist who actually spoke truth to power.

> I think that qualifies. 12 years of no freedom.

It absolutely does not quality. Being on the lam is obviously not the same as serving time in custody.

You can only sum up to 12 by making false equivalencies and ignoring important differences. It reeks of having a self-serving preordained conclusion (or being downstream from one) then distorting everything until it fits.

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

#686

Post by layer8 »

bjornsing wrote: post #476

Paraphrasing Winston Churchill: “You can always trust the Americans to do the right thing, after having exhausted all other options.”

Forcing Assange to plead guilty is the right thing?

To me that plea creates a bad precedent.

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

#687

Post by pydry »

trymas wrote: post #611
pydry wrote: post #556

[flagged]

It’s a tad ironic, that Assange has quite many links with pro ruzzian information bubble. For a person in his position - he must’ve been very naive to have a show on ruzzia today.

It's no more or less ironic than Navalny the documentary being produced by CNN films.

If you're a dissident rival foreign powers will give you a platform which you won't get domestically.

Plenty of Russians think Navalny was a traitor because he made western documentaries. It's good to know you agree with them that releasing dissident material with a hostile foreign power means he is automatically a traitor I guess.

I wouldn't say that that is a position I agreed with though. I would say the principled stance is that dissidents should use the options available to them to avoid being silenced - hostile power or no.

We can't all be principled though, can we?

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

#688

Post by causi »

lisper wrote: post #627
itsoktocry wrote: post #622

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> he was influenced by Russia This argument is completely nonsensical, this idea that who revealed the crime matters more than the actual crime . What does it matter who "influenced" him, if the information was legit? And is it your opinion that none of this information should be released unless it covers all countries equally? Do you honestly think he should have thought, I can't reveal this crime until I find an eq…

> What does it matter who "influenced" him Because they may have influenced the timing and content of the leaks to further their own ends. Revealing sensitive information is not a neutral act. It has consequences far beyond the exposure of bad actors.

Then maybe you shouldn't commit atrocities that can then be used against you. I already know the government of Russia is evil. They're not accountable to me. The American government, ostensibly, is. I want every single evil act they ever willingly partake in exposed with the maximum possible impact, because that's my tax dollars being used to murder people.

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

#690

Post by mardifoufs »

budududuroiu wrote: post #418

I'm happy that he's been freed from Belmarsh because being locked up for 5 years without a conviction is madness. However, I won't cheer for Assange, the person. He's using the guise of impartial journalism to be anything but impartial. His selective disclosure of leaks, with a heavy bias towards NOT disclosing Russian caches, is pretty damning. Assange was shouting from the rooftops that WikiLeaks "doesn't have targ…

What's your point? That journalism is biaised? Sure! The important part was that it uncovered important stuff. Saying "what about the Russian documents!!" Is just that, whatboutism
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