http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1340622/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assange-embodies-anarchic-age-internet.htm

This screwed-up, bitter geek with a grudge against the institutions of the West has become a master of the anarchic universe created by the internet.

WikiLeaks’ revelation of the U.S. government’s list of installations vital to its national interest — in effect, providing every terrorist and enemy of the West with a target crib — alone should have blown away its (Wikileaks) claims to represent the ­public interest.

Few reasonable people who have heard or read his ­published interviews this week will have much sympathy with him hereafter.

I always thought that Max Hastings was a well regarded British Journalist. He says, few people will have much sympathy with Assange after his interviews this week. I get the feeling that most of the Brits and Aussies on Thai Visa with a couple of exceptions love this guy. Is Max Hastings a nut or do most Brits think Assange is a megalomaniac sleazeball.

I can't get the link to work.

I can't get the link to work.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1340622/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assange-embodies-anarchic-age-internet.html#ixzz18quulbEM

There are also allegations by his former partners that he embezelled $50,000 from WikiLeaks that was supposed to go to a defence for Manning. If true, what a swell guy.

I can't get the link to work.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1340622/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assange-embodies-anarchic-age-internet.html#ixzz18quulbEM

The link worked for me, and I have to agree with Mr. Hastings.

Assange is a sleazeball.

From the linked article:

"Most of us have heard enough to believe that he is a ­sleazeball, however the legal proceedings turn out; it is a mere accident that he is a ­sleazeball who is also causing grief to the governments of the West.

Even those who support WikiLeaks should abandon the pernicious delusion that he should be excused from answering charges of sexual misconduct which are wholly unrelated to his self-­proclaimed crusade for transparency."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1340622/WikiLeaks-boss-Julian-Assange-embodies-anarchic-age-internet.html#ixzz18rADkEtO

Max Hastings is a journalist who most of the British public probably haven't even heard of.

The Daily Mail is a shit stirring right wing rag that, in the recent past, supported Hitler, Mussolini and the British Unions of Fascists.

Julian Assange is a hypocrite. We won't know whether he's a sleazeball until he's had his day in court. He's also the man who has enough information to make governments and corporates around the world very uncomfortable. Along with many others I suspect that the sex charges have a lot to do with that fact.

I think it's also worth noting that the daily mail have been critical of wikileaks and Assange, until a leak surfaces that fits their agenda that is. How very unlike them to be hypocritical!

Personally, I'm indifferent to Assange although I do think the timing of the charges against him seem more than a tad coincidental. I'll reserve judgement until more stuff is released or more notably, what might not be released.

Max Hastings is a journalist who most of the British public probably haven't even heard of.

The Daily Mail is a shit stirring right wing rag that, in the recent past, supported Hitler, Mussolini and the British Unions of Fascists.

Julian Assange is a hypocrite. We won't know whether he's a sleazeball until he's had his day in court. He's also the man who has enough information to make governments and corporates around the world very uncomfortable. Along with many others I suspect that the sex charges have a lot to do with that fact.

Until a UK court is satisfied there is enough evidence to extradite him on these charges that will remain unanswered. Interesting the authorities have failed so far to produce this

Isn't it?

Innocent until proven guilty in the UK....and we're proud of this...and our impartiality in dealing with such cases. The US wants this guy badly as we all know...read what you will.....

Interesting that all the negative comments are coming from the great brainwashed believers even though he's not been convicted of anything as yet.

Smear away folks!

There are plenty of brainwashed believers who are trying to make him into a hero despite some pretty sleazy, irresponsible, opportunistic actions - which he has admitted - that could endanger a lot of lives.

Just a note to posters:

We now have 3 (at least) topics roughly on the same thing. No more. Let's keep this one dedicated to Assange, the person and his personal situation. The other thread should be kept for posting actual Wikileaks related material.

Let's try to be civil to each other as well, so the topics don't have to be closed.

Thanks.

Max Hastings is a journalist who most of the British public probably haven't even heard of.

The Daily Mail is a shit stirring right wing rag that, in the recent past, supported Hitler, Mussolini and the British Unions of Fascists.

Julian Assange is a hypocrite. We won't know whether he's a sleazeball until he's had his day in court. He's also the man who has enough information to make governments and corporates around the world very uncomfortable. Along with many others I suspect that the sex charges have a lot to do with that fact.

Max and I are the same age. I like his war stories.

He became a foreign correspondent and reported from more than sixty countries and eleven wars for BBC television and for the Evening Standard in London. Hastings was the first journalist to enter the liberated Port Stanley during the Falklands War. After ten years as editor and then editor-in-chief of The Daily Telegraph, he returned to the Evening Standard as editor in 1996 until his retirement in 2001. He received a knighthood in 2002.

I figured if a functionally illiterate American like me had heard of his work that most Brits would know him.

There are also allegations by his former partners that he embezelled $50,000 from WikiLeaks that was supposed to go to a defence for Manning. If true, what a swell guy.

allegedly Assange is an islamist who financially supports al-Qaeda by embezzling WikiLeaks donations, was involved in the sep 11 terrorist attack, possesses north korean citizenship and smuggled nuclear technology from Pakistan to Iran.

GO WikiLeaks GO!

allegedly Assange is an islamist who financially supports al-Qaeda by embezzling WikiLeaks donations, was involved in the sep 11 terrorist attack, possesses north korean citizenship and smuggled nuclear technology from Pakistan to Iran.

GO WikiLeaks GO!

Oh sure go ahead & leave out his alleged associations with Moammar Khadafi & his abilities to destroy a Magnum condom in a single thrust

There are also allegations by his former partners that he embezelled $50,000 from WikiLeaks that was supposed to go to a defence for Manning. If true, what a swell guy.

I am not getting into the battle of 'you must post a link', and I don't question the authenticity of the information, but I am personally curious as to where this information comes from. I hadn't heard it before.

I found a transcript of a news report - last week - where they interviewed one of his partners who made this accusation, but I can not remember the search term that I used and there is so much stuff that comes up, that it is difficult to wade through it again.

I searched for about an hour today and found a number of references to it on blogs, but not the official transcript itself. However, I did see it before.

Thanks UG. If I am so inclined I can look. If it's on the net, it can be found.

Can "functionally illiterate Americans" see a pattern of right wing angst vs left wing reasonablity emerging?

If we all look at the history of the Swedish charges, how they were dropped and reinstated, dropped and reinstated again, and why, and consider them reasonably, we should all, "functionally illiterate" or not, be able to smell a rat in those charges.

^^

If it is true that Assange did that, I'm sure his critics would make it as visible as possible!

Harcourt's right.

It's not a matter of right or wrong, it's become more of an argument of right v's left, and Americans aren't the only ones involved.

It is not hard to find references to it all over the Internet, but the official transcript takes some doing.

My point is that if he did that I would not have to go looking for it, it would be shoved in my face every time I read the news.

Even if some random reporter did ask the question then it accounts for exactly squat until verified, and the rest of the press would seem to agree otherwise they'd be on it like flies to shit! I could ask him why he likes to have sex with tractors, it doesn't mean there is anything in it.

There are also allegations by his former partners that he embezelled $50,000 from WikiLeaks that was supposed to go to a defence for Manning. If true, what a swell guy.

Not allegations but more smears. The situation around the $50K for Manning's defence fund was that Wikileaks was in possession of the money but were initially unable to transfer it because the account that it was in had been suspended by the bank it was held with. Assange was on Radio 4 last week and said that they'd found a method to transfer the money and it was in the process of being transferred.

I'm not real sure that what Julian "says" is proof of anything.

Money Raised For Bradley Manning's Defense

But former WikiLeaks members said the person being lost in all this is Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of providing secret U.S. documents to WikiLeaks.

Assange's critics want to know what happened to the $50,000 that was supposed to go to Pfc. Manning's defense fund....

....Domscheit-Berg said he and others pressed for the money to be transferred "for quite a while," but that Assange would not comment on why it had not been transferred, other than to say "it was all taken care of." "That, to me," said Domscheit-Berg, "says that it's time to leave this organization."

Said Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland's parliament, "It was irresponsible in a sense for WikiLeaks to call the people to donate money for the Bradley defense. And not deliver."

Birgitta Jonsdottir was one of the early backers of WikiLeaks, and introduced a bill that would make Iceland a safe haven for whistleblowers.

She told ABC News that after working closely with Assange, she had become deeply disillusioned.

"Very many people have forgotten the fact that Bradley Manning has been sitting in jail for 200 days," said Jonsdottir. "And his defense fund is struggling to get together the money to pay for his lawyers."

http://abcnews.go.co...12394736&page=3

Julian "says" that he has never had any contact with Manning.

The Times doesn’t cite any sources but says to make a conspiracy case, prosecutors have been sifting through online chat logs of Manning’s discussions with former hacker Adrian Lamo. In those, he confessed to leaking classified material to WikiLeaks and of having a unique relationship with Assange that went beyond what other sources might have with the enigmatic leader of the secret-spilling site.

(2:04:29 PM) Manning: im a source, not quite a volunteer

(2:05:38 PM) Manning: i mean, im a high profile source… and i’ve developed a relationship with assange… but i dont know much more than what he tells me, which is very little

(2:05:58 PM) Manning: it took me four months to confirm that the person i was communicating was in fact assange

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/tag/bradley-manning/

Scraping the barrel a bit, ain't they?

Not really. If it can be proved that Assange conspired with Manning to obtain the documents, the case against him would be a strong one.

Max Hastings is a journalist who most of the British public probably haven't even heard of.

The Daily Mail is a shit stirring right wing rag that, in the recent past, supported Hitler, Mussolini and the British Unions of Fascists.

Julian Assange is a hypocrite. We won't know whether he's a sleazeball until he's had his day in court. He's also the man who has enough information to make governments and corporates around the world very uncomfortable. Along with many others I suspect that the sex charges have a lot to do with that fact.

Until a UK court is satisfied there is enough evidence to extradite him on these charges that will remain unanswered. Interesting the authorities have failed so far to produce this

Isn't it?

Innocent until proven guilty in the UK....and we're proud of this...and our impartiality in dealing with such cases. The US wants this guy badly as we all know...read what you will.....

Interesting that all the negative comments are coming from the great brainwashed believers even though he's not been convicted of anything as yet.

Smear away folks!

Last year Britain received more than 4,000 extradition requests from other EU states. And is averaging extraditing three people a day to other EU states. Member of the European Parliament Gerard Batten said that what is particularly sad is that Britain, the very home of the defense of freedom and the right of speech, is simply not allowed to hear prima facie evidence in an allegation before granting extradition to another EU member state. http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=7777.6360.0.0

Smokie, I really don't think they need evidence to extradite. I think Julian thinks they do but not EU law. I think if you read the quoted article you will find out you are wrong. While you may be proud of your impartiality you sold that impartiality when you joined the EU. Congrats. Or as Michael Howie wrote in the Telegraph on Dec 18th, "judges are sending people abroad with ‘no questions asked’ at the behest of foreign countries, often over allegations of petty crimes or offenses committed many years ago, and with little regard to potentially serious human rights abuses."

My point is that if he did that I would not have to go looking for it, it would be shoved in my face every time I read the news.

That's true. I've searched for it and besides forums, I haven't turned anything up yet.

I'm not real sure that what Julian "says" is proof of anything.

Money Raised For Bradley Manning's Defense

But former WikiLeaks members said the person being lost in all this is Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of providing secret U.S. documents to WikiLeaks.

Assange's critics want to know what happened to the $50,000 that was supposed to go to Pfc. Manning's defense fund....

....Domscheit-Berg said he and others pressed for the money to be transferred "for quite a while," but that Assange would not comment on why it had not been transferred, other than to say "it was all taken care of." "That, to me," said Domscheit-Berg, "says that it's time to leave this organization."

Said Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland's parliament, "It was irresponsible in a sense for WikiLeaks to call the people to donate money for the Bradley defense. And not deliver."

Birgitta Jonsdottir was one of the early backers of WikiLeaks, and introduced a bill that would make Iceland a safe haven for whistleblowers.

She told ABC News that after working closely with Assange, she had become deeply disillusioned.

"Very many people have forgotten the fact that Bradley Manning has been sitting in jail for 200 days," said Jonsdottir. "And his defense fund is struggling to get together the money to pay for his lawyers."

http://abcnews.go.co...12394736&page=3

That article is talking about the situation on the 15th December. Assange's interview with Radio 4 occurred six days later on the 21st. It's widely known that a number of financial institutions have shut wikileaks bank and credit card accounts down so it's likely that he was telling the truth.

Max Hastings is a journalist who most of the British public probably haven't even heard of.

The Daily Mail is a shit stirring right wing rag that, in the recent past, supported Hitler, Mussolini and the British Unions of Fascists.

Julian Assange is a hypocrite. We won't know whether he's a sleazeball until he's had his day in court. He's also the man who has enough information to make governments and corporates around the world very uncomfortable. Along with many others I suspect that the sex charges have a lot to do with that fact.

Until a UK court is satisfied there is enough evidence to extradite him on these charges that will remain unanswered. Interesting the authorities have failed so far to produce this

Isn't it?

Innocent until proven guilty in the UK....and we're proud of this...and our impartiality in dealing with such cases. The US wants this guy badly as we all know...read what you will.....

Interesting that all the negative comments are coming from the great brainwashed believers even though he's not been convicted of anything as yet.

Smear away folks!

Last year Britain received more than 4,000 extradition requests from other EU states. And is averaging extraditing three people a day to other EU states. Member of the European Parliament Gerard Batten said that what is particularly sad is that Britain, the very home of the defense of freedom and the right of speech, is simply not allowed to hear prima facie evidence in an allegation before granting extradition to another EU member state. http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=7777.6360.0.0

I agree with the article. The European Arrest Warrant and the lopsided extradition agreement we have with the USA are both a disgrace.