Julian Assange is a prick.

[Oskuro]

Who cares if he's an idiot or not?

The issue here is not whether or not he should face trial regarding the sexual assault charges, he should.

The issue is that he should have guarantees that he won't be extradites to the United States, as he is outside their jurisdiction, and such a result would have terrible implications when it comes to international law.

Turn the thing around, how would the US feel if international courts wanted to prosecute their citizens for crimes committed overseas? Oh, wait:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_the_International_Criminal_Court


Edit: And the issue with Sweden is not about corruption or submission to the US, it is about the crimes he is being accused of in the States. It so happens that there are few countries whose extradition treaties include said crimes as a reason to extradite the accused, and Sweden is one of them (Mighty coincidence, right?).

 

[Loonerinoes]

The perception of Julian Assange these days, and the truth behind the matter, is equal to this clip.

 

[Jonluw]

I haven't looked into the case, but what I can say is this:
If I knew I'd never raped anyone, and suddenly earlier dismissed rape charges were brought up against me right after I'd pissed off the world's governments, I sure as hell wouldn't let them take me to court.
You can be damn certain I'd hide away like Assange is doing, because chances I'd be able to prove my innocence would be miniscule.

The problem here is that all the information I can find says that his appeal to drop the charges was denied, because the Swedish Svea Court of Appeal found probable cause for the case to go forward. Nothing seems to indicate that the charges were ever dropped - just the opposite, in fact.

Also, nothing seems to indicate that the US has asked for Sweden to extradite him. Nothing I've seen indicates that the US even possesses the authority to have a foreign citizen extradited to the US.

Edit: I should mention - if you have evidence to the contrary on either point, please show me.

Like I said, I haven't looked into the case.
All I'm saying is that if I were in the situation Assange most likely perceives he's in, I'd do the same, so I won't call him a douchebag.

 

[itsthesheppy]

-snip-

Most of your reply was more banging on about conspiracy theories and, seriously, they are so dull that I'm not going to comment on them. Maybe it was the Illuminati. Maybe the Templars are trying to bring him down because he speaks truth to power and... yawn...

You know who are the worst people to act as objective judges on whether the justice system is fair? Criminals. Fugitives. I imagine if you were sitting next to someone who was fleeing from police in a high speech chase down the freeway, they would have some poignant insights about the fairness of law enforcement.

Go to Riker's Island, see how many people you find who feel they were treated unfairly by the justice system. You might be spoiled for choice.

It's not just job to trust it or not; that's for the people of Sweden. Given that he's Australian I imagine his input is not really sought in the matter. Last I checked he's not a legal scholar or a legislator. He's some guy who ran a website and is now fleeing from rape allegations.

 

[itsthesheppy]

Assange is to me a good man, he did not assult those two women and he founded a website which finds faults in those with bad business morals. I do think he acts like dick according to his coworkers

We don't know whether or not he assaulted those two women because he's fleeing from an arrest warrant that would bring him to court to answer the charges.

I'm sick to death of the internet's love affair with their great hero of truth, who is himself fleeing from it and hiding so as not to fulfill a basic obligation of society.I know he thinks he's in the right because he sees a vast global conspiracy orchestrated by the US government to arrest him and try him for Wikileaks, but the thing is, I don't care about that. The situation he has built for himself there is entirely his own doing. It's the bed he's made.

I'm not interested in speculating (with no evidence personally on hand or presented yet in court) on whether or not the rape accusations reflect legit occurrences or not. I'm not interested in giving an ounce of credence to conspiracy theories. What I want to know is, how does the world not see this man for the coward he so clearly is?

A truly brave man who really believed his own rhetoric would answer the charges. Face them in court and destroy them if they be false; I can't imagine he'd hurt for legal counsel. And if the US tries to nab him, so be it; there's legal challenges to that too. And if it's determined that such an arrest is in fact legal, than so be it. Being noble is about facing the consequences of your actions. How nice of him, though, that he is enough of a celebrity that he can offer himself up as a political game chip to Ecuador and stay out of reach of the Swedish prosecutor, so we may never know if he really is a rapist scumbag.

Well I can't say he's a rapist. But a scumbag? Almost certainly. If he actually stepped outside, faced the music, proved the rape charges unfounded, and then weathered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune with some aplomb and courage I would admire the man. But he's a sniveling coward and it drives me up a wall seeing him granted hero status by the internet.

To clarify Julian Assange has not been charged with any crime he is wanted for questioning by Swedish authorities.
You guys in America really don't get the whole story.
THe major issue is that Julian did not use a condom the sex was consensual that's something that hasn't been widely reported the case is weak at best.
The charges are pretty weak.
The major reason why going to Sweden is such a big deal is because they have previously shown that they willingly extradite people to the US.
While I personally think that he should go to Sweden now due to the much lower risk of the US taking on such a high profile case.
However considering the US's activities over the last 10 years.
(calling everyone they kill a combatant, covering up wrongful oversea's killings eg collateral murder video the one that wiki leaks revealed
drones in Pakistan and recent war with Whistleblowers)
There is still a risk there

Personally I think he's a bit of a douche but since when is that a crime.
remember this exact method has been used by governments for years when it comes to whistle-blowers a sexual crime is usually the first to come out as it helps to lower that person's reputation.
Personally I'd prefer he go to Sweden and face the charges without being extradited.
He has said that he would if they can garentee that he won't be sent to the US but they still have not agreed to anything which is the whole case for his Asylum.
People have got to stop assuming he is guilty as you are only getting the media's take on this which has been fairly Bias which can be taken from the Guilty before proven attitudes.

Did you read my post? If so you might wanna read it again because you missed the point. Or, you mention 'we americans' so maybe English isn't your first language?

I never said he was charged. Pretty sure I didn't use those words.

I also said that the Sweden-to-US extradition threat, while real, was immaterial. Do you know what immaterial means? It means it has nothing to do with the rape allegations. They exist independent of one another.

The only think Assange is guilty of, right now, is cowardice and hypocrisy. If that's good enough for his supporters, then they're welcome to him. They deserve each other.

 

[MiskWisk]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20011886-503543.html

Wikileaks outs Afghan sympathisers. Bearing in mind how terrorist groups react to small things, they are likely going to view this as treason. I personally would not like to be in the situation where my name and address is given to terrorists along with the information that I support their enemies.

From the article: "One specific example cited by the paper is a report on an interview conducted by military officers of a potential Taliban defector. The militant is named, along with his father and the village in which they live."

While soldiers, international relations and civilians in America can be protected, it is much harder for Americans to protect people outside America.

Ok, I can provide links too:

http://bigthink.com/Novel-Copy/no-evidence-wikileaks-disclosed-names-of-afghan-informants

First, I was asked to provide evidence to support my claim that the leaks had put people at risk.

Second, the taliban have admitted to using this information to hunt down informants as stated by http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7917955/Wikileaks-Afghanistan-Taliban-hunting-down-informants.html , http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/taliban-study-wikileaks-to-hunt-informants/ and http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38441360/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/report-afghan-leaks-dangerously-expose-informants-identities/#.UDYUoNZlQhE

Unless you want to go down the route of this being another conspiracy.

 

[Uncle Comrade]

Also I may be wrong, but I heard that he had sex with the woman while she was unconcious, which while it may or may not be rape, is definitely a bit creepy.

So you admit yourself that it probably isn't rape, and considering the context in which the situation occurred, it definitely isn't, but then you say that it is 'definitely a bit creepy'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope

Firstly, I didn't say "it probably isn't rape", I said "it may or may not be rape". I'm not sure of the precise legal definition of having sex with a sleeping person.

Secondly, there's no fallacies at work here. I'm merely stating my view of the situation, I'm certainly not saying "He's a creep, therefore all his arguements are invalid and he deserves to be sent away to rot in rape jail" as you seem to think I am.

[a]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion[/a]

(Incorrectly declaring someone's position to be a fallacy in order to discredit them is a fallacy in itself, surely?)

And thirdly, are you saying that having sex with someone while they're asleep isn't creepy? If so, I'd keep an eye on you at house parties.

 

[Kyber]

The more people dislike him, i like him more.

 

[Uncle Comrade]

So you admit yourself that it probably isn't rape

Yes, of course you did not say that it probably isn't rape.
WTF? Which one is it?

I was using your own fallacy against you.

What fallacy? What are you talking about? I've said on three occasions now that this is just my opinion based on a rumor I'd heard. I don't understand where the fallacy comes into it.

We are discussing whether or not Julian Assange is guilty of rape. The statement 'it might not be rape but it sure is creepy' is either an attempt at a straw man, or it's an irrelevant, useless opinion. I guess we could classify it as the last one if you prefer. I just assumed we were having a discussion.

Well fuck me, I'm sorry my opinion isn't good enough for you. Guess I'd better crawl away into a corner, because sharing your thoughts on the big news stories of the day is apparently a big no-no on the internet now.

 

[Timmey]

I dislike him I must admit. I understand he fears extradition to the US but I also feel, like the rest of us, he has to put his faith in the courts. I find it strange a man who stands so much for truth is afraid to go to the courts so that the truth can be revealed.

Also the reason he hasn't been charged yet is because the police first need to arrest him to charge him, but they cannot charge him as he is currently in the embassy which they can't enter, so this assertion that he hasn't even been charged with anything, whilst true, is disingenuous.

 

[JochemHippie]

You'd have to be really thick to not see that the whole sexual assault thing is a setup to prosecute him on the USA's soil.

 

[MiskWisk]

-snip-

Question, did you read the articles?

Quotes from each article

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7917955/Wikileaks-Afghanistan-Taliban-hunting-down-informants.html


The Taliban has issued a warning to Afghans whose names might appear on the leaked Afghanistan war logs as informers for the Nato-led coalition.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/taliban-study-wikileaks-to-hunt-informants/

Speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location, Zabihullah Mujahid, who frequently contacts news organizations, including The Times on behalf of the Taliban, said, ?We are studying the report.? He added:

We knew about the spies and people who collaborate with U.S. forces. We will investigate through our own secret service whether the people mentioned are really spies working for the U.S. If they are U.S. spies, then we know how to punish them.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38441360/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/t/report-afghan-leaks-dangerously-expose-informants-identities/#.UDYfbNZlQhG

The paper, which withheld all details that would identify Afghans, said a Taliban fighter considering defection was named in a 2008 interview. The document reportedly included his village and statements he made about specific commanders and other potential defectors.
"The meeting ended with [X] agreeing to meet with intel personnel from the battalion," the report reads, according the paper. It was not known whether the man subsequently left the Taliban.

 

[Zorg Machine]

Well it wasn't really very heavy sexual assault and the evidence for it is sketchy at best. However, if he gets sent to the courts of Sweden there is a very real chance that he will get extradited. I'm a swede and I'm pretty sure that we will extradite him as soon as USA promises not to kill him (which will still leave him with life in prison).

 

[Talvrae]

Am i the only one who don't endorse wikileak? I'm all for the freedom to informations and speech, but it revealed military secrets, who are secrets for a good damn reason thouse could have put soldiers in dangers... And private e-mail of olitician?? Common there is such thing even for poitician to have a private life and to have personal opinion on other politician or diplomats, who care?

 

[itsthesheppy]

You'd have to be really thick to not see that the whole sexual assault thing is a setup to prosecute him on the USA's soil.

I agree, bro. It's the Illuminati. They put microchips in his oranges and used their cold war spy satellites to beam mind control rays into those women to file those claims. It's all because of the JFK "assassination", which we all know was an alien cover-up.

Hang on, I had my stack of crazy person notebooks around here somewhere, I'll post more once I review my notes.