Wikileaks' Assange accused of rape in Sweden

[mogster]

Source: Twitter

Wikileaks founders arrested for rape
Wikileaks founders Julian Assange sought by Swedish police.
He is on suspicion of rape in Stockholm.
- He is charged in his absence, confirming Mary Häljebo Kjell Beach, duty prosecutor in Stockholm City, to Expressen.

Julian Assange have recently been to Sweden to lecture, including the LO-castle in Stockholm on the theme of "first victim of war is truth". Behind the event was Brotherhood Movement, the array of Christian Socialists.
Last night he was arrested in his absence by Swedish prosecutors to date, according to Expressen.
- It's rape, confirms Maria Häljebo Kjell Beach, the Express on Friday evening.
Is there probable cause the case?
– Ja, det är det. - Yes, that's it.
Någon timme tidigare under kvällen hade åklagaren fått uppgifter från Stockholmspolisen om våldtäktsanmälan mot Julian Assange. About an hour earlier in the evening had received information from the prosecutor Stockholm police about rape complaint against Julian Assange.


Read more: http://bit.ly/bv5ku9

---

Sorry for poor English quality, translated via google.

This is just breaking here, and is commented thusly on Wikileaks' twitter:
We were warned to expect "dirty tricks". Now we have the first one.
http://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/21731247584
And:
Expressen is a tabloid; No one here has been contacted by Swedish police. Needless to say this will prove hugely distracting.
http://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/21731365419

Also the tabloid dagbladet has printed this story (NO).
http://www.dagbladet.no/2010/08/21/nyheter/utenriks/voldtekt/wikileaks/13051023/

This is how the game goes down in Scandinavia: using garbage media, "sex victims" and bent police to plant stories.
Only five years ago, this type of propaganda management would have been unthinkable here, but now it is everyday business.

For how long will the Pentagon propaganda apparatus be allowed to run uninterrupted?

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[tomm2thumbs]

2. sounds contrived to me - and if it sounds contrived, it probably is...

dats what my momma used to always say...

[Delphinus]

20. Yeah,

I kind of have to agree. The timing is too ... what's the word I'm looking for? Coincidental, perhaps?

[Karenina]

108. THE CHARGES HAVE BEEN DROPPED!

[BootinUp]

112. source?

[mogster]

120. Link

http://bit.ly/aOdDpA

Assange no longer wanted

Chief prosector Eva Finné has come to the desicion that Julian Assange is not suspected of rape. Considering that, Assange is no longer arrested in his absence.

Eva Finné will make no other comments during Saturday night.

----------
Oh, I see the link is already translated, here's the direct without google. Sorry.
http://bit.ly/aW1ff9

[JI7]

3. the source is Twitter ?

[northernlights]

4. and so begins the character assassination...

straight out of the playbook. quel surprise. :sarcasm:

[Swagman]

9. so true..and a 'sex' scandal the tabloids love-will get more coverage

than all those deaths in Iraq for sure

[1monster]

44. Nevermind (a la Roseanne Rosanandana)

[Iowa]

158. +1

[superconnected]

166. And begins the outing of the DU idiots who want this smear - as we see on this thread

[Diclotican]

5. mogster

mogster

I would not be suprised, if it is a planted story, to dis-credit this man, who have been a pain in Pentagons asses for so long.. After all, the old "He raped me" or "he had sex with me" is a old honney trap, who exemple the old KGB was using more or less regulary for getting a grip over diplomats all over the world. A teqnice who by the way are not over yet Im afraid of...

But everyhing wil be proven here to, and I would not be surprised at all, if this story is blowing over, and everyone is forgotting the story in a couple of monts.. And maybe expressen even make a little note of it, when the prosecutor is closing down the case, for lack of evidence and so on... After a couple of weeks with this on the front page, it is going to be some old, and other news would surface as more important..

Diclotican

[Better Today]

6. Unrec'ing due to questionable content need not take hold here,

It's bad enough that our government may be up to something here, and if the OP title indicated that in GD instead of LBN, then I wouldn't unrec. Instead the title gives credence to the idea that this is legit when there seems no justification for the article or any reliable sourcing for the claim of rape or even arrest.

[jefferson_dem]

7. More here -

STOCKHOLM — A Swedish tabloid reported Saturday that an arrest warrant has been issued for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of rape, and officials said they could confirm "media reports."

Assange addressed the report on WikiLeaks Twitter page, saying "the charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing."

The prosecutor's office in Stockholm issued a brief statement saying it "confirms media reports that a foreign citizen has been arrested in absentia" but didn't name Assange.

"The arrest refers to two separate events, one complaint of molestation and one complaint of rape," the statement said.

"The person is arrested in absentia, as there is a risk that he could obstruct the investigation," it said.

Expressen said prosecutor Maria Haljebo Kjellstrand confirmed that Assange, who is an Australian citizen, was the person sought on the warrant. Haljebo Kjellstrand could not be reached for comment Saturday. The prosecutor's office said all information related to the case would be posted on its website.

<SNIP>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38795947

[mogster]

21. Thanks

There is an interesting detail in the original article: The women have not filed a complaint, thus making this solely a police matter.

They reportedly did not notify. (Bad translation for 'file a complaint').
- Women are terrified and dare not participate. (Participate would correctly translate to 'cooperate with the police').
The police believe that in this case, the offender's position of power that women are afraid of. This raises for police and the prosecutor, said a source.
-------------
So, the police did not receive a formal complaint but a request for advice, and decided to prosecute. They just arrested him in absentia, but did not try to contact him or apprehend him. Complete with anonymous sources.

This has nothing to do with the Obama administration, me thinks, but the more and more visible Pentagon secret projects, a world of it's own. Remember Al Gore, who was accused of intimidation by a masseuse or two recently. This is how they work to silence opposition to the war doctrine.

You must wake up to what was the special propaganda treat from the Bush-administration: Bounce information off European media and back to the US, with a European 'swing' to it - this goes directly to Scandinavian core values: Womens rights.

[Occulus]

8. The AP is calling the source a tabloid per Google News

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j67FZIpdD8zrIyYcrXZQ4cqFj_mgD9HNQAHO0

Can anyone say "smear campaign"?

[LAGC]

11. No, its more than just a tabloid report. There are actual charges!

CNN was reporting that they are talking with the Swedish prosecutor's office.

These bastards are for real! They are out to ruin Assange!

[Judi Lynn]

You remember the retired Marine, Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq for the UN Scott Ritter

who was speaking to anyone who would listen, giving speeches across the country, appearing on tv continuously, speaking out against _{George W. Bush's} impending war on the Iraqi people, telling us ALL there were no WMD's in Iraq.

You remember that he did this as long as he could until badda bing, the U.S. government claims he was soliciting sex from a girl on the internetS, and waited until that story had saturated the news media, then finally claimed there had been a closing of the case, and his records were SEALED.

Surely, this is a very OLD, familiar tactic. It's probably the FIRST thing they do when they are out to get someone who has exposed them.

You also remember the man who wrote the unauthorized biography of _{George W. Bush} and as it was being publicized just prior to release, the public got flooded with stories he was an ex-con, etc., and then, he unexpectedly

[LAGC]

14. Yep. This is clearly character assassination from very high up.

Someone inside the Pentagon/CIA paid some girls in Sweden to lie and make up false accusations against Assange.

Even if it doesn't go to trial, his reputation will be stained forever.

[nxylas]

24. Sad to see the Swedes doing the Empire's dirty work

I always thought they were the good guys.

[BREMPRO]

32. those accusation back in 2003 are supported by a sex sting operation

that caught Ritter masturbating online with a police officer posing as a 15 yo girl. I hate the sting aspect, and respect his courage for standing up to the war machine, but he looks like he got caught.doing what he was accused of.

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100503/NEWS/5030332/-1/rss01


you never know.

i assume the charges against assuage are fabricated, but i'd like to see the evidence first.

[sce56]

137. If those charges were real don't you think the case would not have been dropped?

The charges were dropped and the case sealed so what is the truth? Sounds to me like they set him up and tried to silenced him.

[Judi Lynn]

10. You remember the retired Marine, Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq for the UN Scott Ritter

who was speaking to anyone who would listen, giving speeches across the country, appearing on tv continuously, speaking out against _{George W. Bush's} impending war on the Iraqi people, telling us ALL there were no WMD's in Iraq.

You remember that he did this as long as he could until badda bing, the U.S. government claims he was soliciting sex from a girl on the internetS, and waited until that story had saturated the news media, then finally claimed there had been a closing of the case, and his records were SEALED.

Surely, this is a very OLD, familiar tactic. It's probably the FIRST thing they do when they are out to get someone who has exposed them.

You also remember the man who wrote the unauthorized biography of _{George W. Bush} and as it was being publicized just prior to release, the public got flooded with stories he was an ex-con, etc., and then, he unexpectedly

[superconnected]

167. +1000

[pipoman]

12. His world is getting smaller..

once arrested and in custody in Sweden can he be extradited to the US?

[EFerrari]

25. We grab people in secret all around the world. Why not him?

[TroglodyteScholar]

111. Has he been charged with a crime in the US?

Honest question. I know statements have been made to the effect that his actions are "criminal," but I didn't think it had gone further than that.

[pipoman]

151. I really don't know either..

I believe he is wanted for questioning, I don't know what else.

[Judi Lynn]

13. Remember the retired Marine, Chief Weapons Inspector in Iraq for the UN Scott Ritter

who was speaking to anyone who would listen, giving speeches across the country, appearing on tv continuously, speaking out against _{George W. Bush's} impending war on the Iraqi people, telling us ALL there were no WMD's in Iraq.

You remember that he did this as long as he could until badda bing, the U.S. government claims he was soliciting sex from a girl on the internetS, and waited until that story had saturated the news media, then finally claimed there had been a closing of the case, and his records were SEALED.

Surely, this is a very OLD, familiar tactic. It's probably the FIRST thing they do when they are out to get someone who has exposed them.

You no doubt also remember the man who wrote the unauthorized biography of _{George W. Bush} and, as it was being publicized just prior to release, the public got flooded with stories he was an ex-con, etc., then, he unexpectedly "killed himself." Why did he waste so much time gathering material for the book, then struggling to get it written only to turn around and check out?

The stories are endless, by now, aren't they?

[trumad]

15. Umm--- I was a huge fan of Ritter in the day

because he spoke the truth about Iraq and he was right...BUT...I think his perversions are his own and were not fabricated by hidden forces.

Ritter was arrested in April 2001<31> and again in June 2001<32><33> in connection with police stings in which officers posed as under-aged girls to arrange meetings of a sexual nature. The first incident did not lead to any charges.<31> He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child" after the second, but charges were dropped and the record was sealed on condition that he avoid further trouble for a period of time.<31><34> News of the arrests became public after sealed court records were anonymously provided to the press. Ritter claimed that the timing of the leak was a politically motivated effort to distract attention from his statements about Iraq.<32><33><35>

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009<36> over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police claim that he showed himself masturbating via a web camera after the officer said she was a 15-year-old girl; Ritter claims he was not made aware of the ostensible age of his correspondent before the act. The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on a $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".<37> Ritter is scheduled to face trial on these charges in September 2010.<38>

[BootinUp]

107. Stop trying to shut down conspiracy theories!

They are so much fun, we might some day have a new dungeon forum for one!

:sarcasm:

[Imajika]

16. No Judi, that is not what happened at all....

Ritter was caught twice LONG before the Iraq war for this stuff (before even Sept 11). The issue was that his record was sealed yet someone got a hold of the info and released it to the press. This is not particularly surprising given that these kind of charges are pretty hard to keep secret (even if they are supposed to be sealed) when dealing with any controversial person, politician, etc. A person becomes famous and has charges of trying to hook up with kids in any way, shape or form and eventually the media is going to get wind of it. Ritter has done this stuff like 3 times now (that we know of).

From wikipedia:

"Ritter was arrested in April 2001<31> and again in June 2001<32><33> in connection with police stings in which officers posed as under-aged girls to arrange meetings of a sexual nature. The first incident did not lead to any charges.<31> He was charged with a misdemeanor crime of "attempted endangerment of the welfare of a child" after the second, but charges were dropped and the record was sealed on condition that he avoid further trouble for a period of time.<31><34> News of the arrests became public after sealed court records were anonymously provided to the press. Ritter claimed that the timing of the leak was a politically motivated effort to distract attention from his statements about Iraq.<32><33><35>

Ritter was arrested again in November 2009<36> over communications with a police decoy he met on an Internet chat site. Police claim that he showed himself masturbating via a web camera after the officer said she was a 15-year-old girl; Ritter claims he was not made aware of the ostensible age of his correspondent before the act. The next month, Ritter waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was released on a $25,000 unsecured bail. Charges included "unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors, indecent exposure, possessing instruments of crime, criminal attempt and criminal solicitation".<37> Ritter is scheduled to face trial on these charges in September 2010."

So basically, he was caught twice long before he was on TV speaking out against the impending Iraq war, and caught YET AGAIN in November 2009. Was the Obama administration using the Barrett Township police and Monroe Country District Attorneys office to smear Ritter in 2009? Seriously?

Here is the affidavit from his 2009 arrest:

http://www.poconorecord.com/assets/pdf/PR1152113.PDF

Everything is not a conspiracy. Face it, Ritter likes young girls and has been caught 3 times so far.

[jberryhill]

17. You have the Ritter story backwards

His first arrest resulted in dropped charges and a sealed file. The news reports were based on leaking of the sealed file, not the arrest.

However, his second arrest record is not sealed, and he goes to trial next month.

[SILVER__FOX52]

18. Total crap.

[Wilms]

19. Twitter is LBN?

How about SMS? IM?

[EFerrari]

22. Assange bought yellow cake in Africa!

And FU, Robert Gates.

[stray cat]

23. DU heroes are angelic and incapable of vice!

I'll wait for evidence one way or another as I don't believe leaking date precludes any possibility of criminal activity

[chrisa]

26. Unfortunately, even if this is true, there will always be doubt.

I personally believe that this story is questionable, but the truth will never be certain.

For some, it just looks like a plan to arrest Assange without creating outrage, and then disappear him to secret prisons for interrogations, or something like that. Nobody would question where he went, and he would just fade away.

[Hissyspit]

126. Prosecutors Withdraw Warrant for WikiLeaks Founder Assange, Saying Rape Suspicion Unfounde

"DU Hero" apparently innocent. Like Obama of charges of being born somewhere else.

[Name removed]

153. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Hissyspit]

117. Bullshit usually smells to high heaven and DUers have a propensity for pointing out

when they can't breathe because of the smell.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

136. You should change our name to straw cat. nt

[fascisthunter]

142. This DU "Hero" is Innocent

[Forkboy]

152. Like waiting for an actual birth certificate?

[pmorlan1]

27. The Empire Strikes Back

Now would be a good time to donate to Wikileaks to show them that we aren't fooled by this.

[anachro1]

28. Wow!

How did our military administration manage to plant this false information so quickly?

[Billy Burnett]

42. The ops are on the shelf, ready at a moment's notice.

All that's needed is to plug-in the names and places, etc etc.

[T Wolf]

29. Wow! They didn't waste any time in going after him, did they? The only reasonable reaction

to this bullshit should be to blast-release everything they have, without redacting a god damn thing.

Guess the PTB decided to go this route instead of Wellstoneing him.

[Loudmxr]

30. THIS JUST IN: The charges have been amended

to showing pornography to a woman and then inviting her up to his room for a Mint Julep. Sounds seriesly bad.

[JudyInTheHeartland]

31. He does give off that creepy molester vibe...

Still, innocent until proven guilty.

[blackspade]

43. Spamming this same post in another thread, eh?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4512703

Post #10

[superconnected]

172. Wow Judyintheheartland is sick. Of course I could already tell by her posts.

[TroglodyteScholar]

115. How do you suppose?

Are you here for any other reason than to cast doubts on his character?

[IndianaGreen]

135. Kucinich avatar has replaced the Che avatar

a dead give away for prowar posters!

[Hissyspit]

119. As I posted in the other, now combined thread:

Disgusting of you to say that.

Utter bullshit. He emits no such thing unless you decide he does.

I can just as easily say he emits a cool James Bond vibe. Makes about as much sense.

But thanks for playing 'Stereotype-Based Baseless Smear Psychological Disinformation Campaign.'

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

140. You do give off that creepy trolly vibe.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/2010821153010551757.html

[fascisthunter]

143. now now... looks have nothing to do with it

I hope your POV on his actions have nothing to do with his appearance.

FAIL

[superconnected]

171. You mean like you give off the creepy freeper vibe.

Actually, I don't sense any molester vibe with him.

[Joanne98]

33. I don't believe this for a minute. The Pentagon is desperate. They got

the Swedish police to help and frame him. He needs to dump EVERYTHING he's got onto the web NOW!

[Pavulon]

36. That assumes anyone will give a shit..

unless he has pictures of w and Cheney eating an iraqi kid there is nothing short of a clear picture of a criminal act that will be worth the trouble. More names for the taliban to kill?

Poor fella, he was just to high strung to go poking everyone in the eye.

[Mustellus]

34. Julian and Al Gore....

... took turns. This disproves _both_ global warming and Wikileaks !!!!

[wookie72]

35. It should not matter

If he is guilty, he should be punished. If he is being framed, those people should be exposed. I think there should be no further comment on that until it plays out in court.

But the very idea that this somehow discounts anything Assange has done to expose the truth is meaningless, and a literalization of the the Ad Hominem argument.

If indeed this is being used as an attempt to extradite him to the US, it's shameful.

[Pavulon]

37. It is far more elegant than the old (other) way..

which would be to throw him the trunk of a car and drive him to an airport and fly him somewhere.. I seem to remember some bad guys in italy going missing and a bit of a Kerfuffle..

Or he could like to fuck little kids, who knows.

Either way decisions have consequences, fucking with the intelligence service of any nation may be ill advised.

[JoeyT]

39. +1

And if it IS true, then it's in sort of poor taste to claim the victim is lying just because we like things the guy has done.

[wookie72]

40. Definitely

People are complicated. It's entirely possible (indeed likely) that Scott Ritter was both a) a sex offender and b) right about the Iraq war.

[dflprincess]

173. The people who are more than likely framing him have had the power

to start and continue two illegal wars - do you really think there is any chance at all they will be exposed? And, if by some remote chance they were, that anything would happen to them?

If the U.S. won't allow war criminals to be tried (unless they are elderly Nazis) no way will it go after the same crowd for something like this.

[orbitalman]

38. So THIS is how the pentagon is going to get him.

This smell to high heaven. They need to trace this all the way to the top. He didn't find out until he read the morning paper? He will just turn himself in? They ghost arrested him in his absence? Two women...at the same time? This just proves they should put him away.
:sarcasm:

[Pavulon]

41. He is playing a chess game. Like a 4 year old playing with Kasparov

he is now unable to hang out in a country that could allow him to publish information he does not own. Interpol will now honor the warrant if he flees.

I did not expect them to dose him with thorium and let him die a horrific death but I did not expect them to do nothing.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

145. Put the lotion and the tissues away. This turned out to be bullshit. So calm down

and get back to your Clancy novel.

[Pavulon]

148. Yep. I wonder if he reached out to any one...

wonder if he used any communications that would show up? I wonder.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

154. So I says to the guy I says ''Hey asshole it's fifty bucks.''. nt

[jimlup]

45. Julian Assange charged with rape and molestation in Sweden?

Source: CNN

Stockholm, Sweden (CNN) -- The founder and editor of the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has been charged in Sweden with rape and molestation, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office told CNN Saturday.

Spokeswoman Karin Rosander said the charges were filed Friday night in relation to two separate instances, but she didn't have more detail about when the alleged crimes occurred or who the alleged victims are.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/08/21/sweden.wikileaks.charge/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

---

This is bizarre! A real life version of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

I'm in the doubt anything you hear about Assange corner right now.

[LAGC]

46. Yep, the charges are definitely suspect.

Wouldn't be hard for some CIA black op to pay some girls a large sum of money to lie and say Assange raped/molested them.

The problem is, even if he wins in court, the mere accusations will stain his reputation forever. Mission accomplished!

Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. It worked for Microsoft.

[BootinUp]

47. innocent until proven guilty

but wouldn't shock me if it turned out true. I do not advocate any outcome other than the truth.

[stray cat]

51. I wish more put stock in evidence than politics -

[EFerrari]

53. What evidence?

[notadmblnd]

59. Why wouldn't it shock you?

I can't see a guy who is really out in front right now, saying to himself- Hmmmm... the CIA wants me, I think I'll just go rape myself some women.

[BootinUp]

67. I guess 2 main reasons

1. Takes a lot to shock me these days.

2. People under great stress do stupid shit sometimes.


For full disclosure I do believe he hasn't used 100% good judgement recently, but that does not affect my answer.


Edit: affect not effect I think.

[superconnected]

168. Or heck, maybe you're just projecting.

[Arctic Dave]

72. Hold still while I pull that hook out of your mouth.

Oh wait, I think I see the line and the sinker too.

[BootinUp]

78. they should just cancel the indictment now

are you happy? lol.

edit: indictment....

[Hissyspit]

73. Thanks for playing "Damned with Faint Defense."

"innocent until proven guilty but wouldn't shock me if it turned out true."

Do not condemn this probable rapist yet! :eyes:

Would it fail to shock you if it turned out to be a pretty obvious false attack?

[BootinUp]

79. I generally object when folks put a forkload of words

into my mouth. So lets just stick with what I said ok? I will return the same favor to you.

[Hissyspit]

82. O.K. Here's what you said: "wouldn't shock me if it turned out true."

Fine. They are your words. We should all assume them sincere and innocent and unbiased and well-motivated until reason to believe otherwise. Wouldn't shock me if they weren't, though.

[BootinUp]

84. lol

touche then. Of course I did offer further explanation in a post that no one has responed to.

[Hissyspit]

85. I read it.

You should probably read Post #35.

[fascisthunter]

144. time to serve that poster with a dish of CROW

[ck4829]

48. If Assange faces the charges, one has to wonder if he'll be Jack Ruby-ed

Taken out by some terminally ill (Or in this day and age, mentally ill) guy who claims he was defending the honor of the victims while being escorted by the police.

If they escort him in broad daylight, he has lax security escorting him, and no body armor; then you know what's going to happen next.

[monmouth]

49. Has CIA written all over it...n/t

[ChairmanAgnostic]

50. sad to say, your words ring true.

[Dr.Phool]

56. Can anybody say Scott Ritter?

The fastest way to shut somebody up, is to try to pin some sex charges on them.

It sure looks funny.

[Smarmie Doofus]

68. so funny it's not funny. nt

[mbperrin]

74. Yep. Live boy or a dead girl?

Old ways, good times, eh?

[Towlie]

93. Will our language EVER shed that trite and irritating legacy of Mister Rogers?

[bemildred]

52. So predictable.

Next he will be found to be a Muslin Terrist drug and arms trafficer and oh who knows what else.

[EFerrari]

54. Daily flights between Julian Assange and Iran!

[JudyInTheHeartland]

55. You've got to admit

He does emit that creepy molester vibe.

Of course, innocent until proven guilty.

[EFerrari]

57. I think the Pentagon emits a creepy molester vibe. n/t

[Smarmie Doofus]

58. 2-shay. nt

[Hissyspit]

63. Disgusting of you to say that.

Utter bullshit. He emits no such thing unless you decide he does.

I can just as easily say he emits a cool James Bond vibe. Makes about as much sense.

But thanks for playing 'Stereotype-Based Baseless Smear Psychological Disinformation Campaign.'

[TroglodyteScholar]

118. +1 n/t

[Arctic Dave]

69. Funny, I get that from you. But, you know, innocent until proven otherwise.

Do you see how lame your comments are now.

[BootinUp]

70. I am not necessarily agreeing

with any of the vibes expressed, but I am curious as to the criteria you just used?

[Hissyspit]

75. You're not curious as to the criteria JudyInTheHeartland used?

Just Arctic Dave, who was obviously being facetious to make a point. Why?

[BootinUp]

76. That is an anonymous poster

with not that many posts. Does that explain it to you?

[Hissyspit]

77. No.

[TroglodyteScholar]

96. If by "creepy molester" you mean...

...European, when then yes, he does emit that vibe. Otherwise, I've got no idea what you're picking up on.

The most powerful government in the world wishes Assange would just go away. How lucky and convenient that this could accomplish that!

[Iggo]

147. Maybe if you post it another dozen times it'll get traction.

[Turborama]

60. The Guardian: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange accused of rape

Swedish authorities issue an arrest warrant for the founder of whistleblowers' website on suspicion of rape and molestation

David Batty and agencies
Saturday 21 August 2010 13.20 BST


Swedish authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange on suspicion of molestation and rape.

The warrant was issued late yesterday, said a spokeswoman at Sweden's prosecutors' office in Stockholm.

She said Assange should contact the Swedish police for questioning about the accusations of molestation and rape in two separate cases "so that he can be confronted with the suspicions".

Assange has denied the charges, which were first reported by the Swedish tabloid Expressen, on Wikileaks' Twitter account.

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/21/julian-assange-wikileaks-arrest-warrant-sweden

Al Jazeera English were discussing this earlier and they said that because he's got his server in Sweden now this could be a way to stop him being able to access Wikileaks.

Maybe we're going to find out what's inside "Insurance" soon...

[ananda]

86. Expression is a Swedish tabloid.

""Expressen is a tabloid; No one here has been contacted by Swedish police. Needless to say, this will prove hugely distracting.

"We were warned to expect 'dirty tricks'. Now we have the first one."

Last month Wikileaks released around 77,000 secret US military documents on the war in Afghanistan.

US authorities criticised the leak, saying it could put the lives of Nato troops and Afghan informants at risk.

Assange has said that Wikileaks intends to release a further 15,000 documents in the coming weeks - a pledge condemned by the Pentagon, which has demanded the deletion of the files from the website.

Assange, an Australian citizen, was in Sweden last week to apply for a publishing certificate to make sure the website, which has servers in Sweden, can take full advantage of Swedish laws protecting whistleblowers.

He also gave a talk about his work and defended the decision by Wikileaks to publish the Afghan war logs."


Nuff said?

[Mudoria]

61. Interesting

Wonder if he'll go back to Sweden and face the charges?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

138. No not interesting and he won't need to.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/08/2010821153010551757.html

[JonLP24]

169. !

:rofl:

This thread is so funny mostly because it is unintentional. The replies are what I'm laughing at

LOL @ poster w/ Kucinich avatar "innocent until proven guilty"

[Pavulon]

62. Guess he won't be setting up shop there..(nt)

[LanternWaste]

157. And I guessed there were 2,551 jelly beans in the jar...

And I guessed there were 2,551 jelly beans in the jar...

[mike r]

64. The Empire Strikes Back

It sure smells suspicious...

[Hissyspit]

65. Wikileaks: "First Major 'Dirty Tricks' Attempt Against Us"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8987880

Via Twitter: "Wikileaks: We were warned to expect "dirty tricks". Now we have the first one:

[jimnasium]

66. How convenient....

I call bullshit.

[orbitalman]

71. So this is how the Pentagon is going to get him and shut him up. n/t

[reorg]

80. John Pilger all but predicted this just two days ago

Why WikiLeaks must be protected
John Pilger
Published 19 August 2010
New Statesman

There is understandably hysteria on high, with demands that the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, be "hunted down" and "rendered". In Washington, I interviewed a senior official in the defence department and asked: "Can you give a guarantee that the editors of WikiLeaks and the editor-in-chief, who is not American, will not be subjected to the kind of manhunt that we read about in the media?" He replied: "It's not my position to give guarantees on anything."

(...) A Pentagon document states bluntly that US intelligence intends to "fatally marginalise" WikiLeaks. The preferred tactic is smear, with corporate journalists ever ready to play their part.

Read more ...

[Hissyspit]

83. +1

[BootinUp]

88. I will wait for the truth to be revealed

if it turns out that the charges are trumped up, I will fault those responsible of course.

[chatnoir]

91. File Not Found

Did they pull it already?

[BootinUp]

94. no its on their front page here:

try this

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/08/pilger-wikileaks-afghanistan

[Hissyspit]

95. Here you go:

http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=584

[reorg]

100. sorry

editing error, now corrected - here is the link again

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/08/pilger-wikileaks-afghanistan

[chatnoir]

106. Oops, jumped the gun - thanks

[mogster]

97. That link was broken, here's the corr

http://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2010/08/pilger-wikileaks-afghanistan

[reorg]

133. Link to DOD document

I think I found it:

http://wikileaks.org/wiki/U.S._Intelligence_planned_to_destroy_WikiLeaks,_18_Mar_2008
http://file.wikileaks.org/file/us-intel-wikileaks.pdf

The quotes around "fatally marginalise" in Pilger's article are somewhat misleading, since the expression is taken from Assange's summary, not from the document itself. However, his interpretation does not appear to be entirely off the mark even though the document does not expressly mention smear campaigns:

"Wikileaks.org uses trust as a center of gravity by assuring insiders, leakers, and whistleblowers who pass information to Wikileaks.org personnel or who post information to the Web site that they will remain anonymous. The identification, exposure, or termination of employment of or legal actions against current or former insiders, leakers, or whistleblowers
could damage or destroy this center of gravity and deter others from using Wikileaks.org to make such information public."

[IndianaGreen]

141. K&R

A most excellent find, reorg!

:kick:

[wookie72]

81. HIstorical precedent?

I seem to remember that the White House tried to do something similar to Daniel Ellsberg. Of course, my primary source is Oliver Stone's Nixon, so take it with a grain of salt.

Nonetheless, I stand by my earlier statement: his guilt or innocence is a matter for the courts. We shouldn't rise to any bait to either defend him or condemn him with no evidence.

[Dr.Phool]

87. Congressional testimony,

White House tapes, The Plumbers burgling his shrinks office.

Yeah, they tried.

[Smarmie Doofus]

99. We should presume him *innocent*; should we not?

>>>We shouldn't rise to any bait to either defend him or condemn him with no evidence.>>>>

[wookie72]

104. Of course presume him innocent

But when people bring it up as an attempt to discredit him, just take the high road and say that it has nothing to do with WIkiLeaks. Because it doesn't. Don't say "he's been set up."

[Hissyspit]

109. The "high road."

What "high road?" This stinks to high heaven. Stating that this has nothing to do with WikiLeaks when you know no such thing is the "high road?"

Nowhere in this thread have I claimed he was assuredly "set up?" I have pointed out where people are playing into and supporting the opposite narrative. But, it is foolish and naive (at best) to not be EXTREMELY suspicious of this.

And, yes, innocent people get convicted of things they didn't do. O.J. innocent? No. Never thought he was.

[wookie72]

113. I'm supporting no narrative

I'm simply saying that the WikiLeaks work is too important to even address this. It's a stupid ad hominem argument, and I think trying to create a "narrative" when there is no evidence is pointless and buying into the interests of those who want this to be the main story. Just say "the leaks are what's important. Whether he did this is a matter for the courts.'

My point was not whether you personally believe OJ's (or Mumia, or whoever's) innocence. It's that saying "hmm, this is suspicious" makes people sound cynical and possibly paranoid, which is something people rightly criticize the "other side" for doing.

[Hissyspit]

123. Swedish Prosecutors Withdraw Warrant for WikiLeaks Founder

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38797243

[wookie72]

125. Then the matter is settled. Good.

But to claim some clairvoyance about "conspiracies" is just as loony as anything Beck says.

[Hissyspit]

127. Nonsense. This stunk to high heaven.

And calling pointing out the obvious possibility of a bullshit smear campaign as "clajrvoyance about conspiracy" and equating it with Beck is absurd. The need to counter the power of a false rape charge as an attack on WikiLeaks was apparent from the get-go.

[wookie72]

128. so...

Did you assume Larry Craig's innocence?

[Hissyspit]

129. I didn't assume anyone's innocence.

End of discussion.

[wookie72]

130. Seems like you did.

By suggesting a conspiracy.

[Hissyspit]

132. Wrong.

All my comments are here for everyone to see and review. Bye.

[wookie72]

134. lets review them, then

"Keep catapulting the propaganda."
"Wikileaks: We were warned to expect "dirty tricks". Now we have the first one:"
"What "high road?" This stinks to high heaven. Stating that this has nothing to do with WikiLeaks when you know no such thing is the "high road?"

And you missed my point, which was that the charges should have *no bearing* on the Wikileaks materials themselves (which is what I meant by "nothing to do with WIkiLeaks)

And again, did you ever suspect that Larry Craig could have been set up by people who dislike his homophobic politics. (Not that I'm saying he was - I'm asking did you ever suspect that yourself?)

[EFerrari]

155. This is a common logical error of the right and people who identify with the right --

that you can simply reverse the roles.

These dirty tricks are not set up by the left. They are SOP of the right, including the authoritarians at the Pentagon. You can't simply reverse the roles because your experience if not common sense should tell you such a situation is very unlikely.

[Pavulon]

156. Every american president, including carter, ran lethal operations

in other countries. The all use the CIA, left and right.

[wookie72]

159. So, let's throw away due process then.

Anyone we like who's accused of a crime is automatically innocent, and anyone who's accused of a crime is automatically guilty.
Bullshit.

[EFerrari]

163. Binary thinking much?

[wookie72]

176. Projecting much?

Yes, binary thinking is unfortunate. AND THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING HERE.

Before the charges were dropped, I wrote that it shouldn't matter whether he was guilty or not, it has no bearing on the documents themselves. People jumped all over me saying "Ooooh! You think he's guilty! Stop the propaganda line."

My point was that even if he *was* guilty, he still did a good think by releasing the documents. And somehow that got turned around into "quit accusing him!"

[wookie72]

161. Oh, and if it was a setup by the CIA...

Who's running that now?
Let's say it is a conspiracy... might it implicate the people in office now?

[EFerrari]

164. I hope you don't sprain anything reaching like that. n/t

[wookie72]

174. Hm...

Yeah, our current president is pure as the driven snow and would never, EVER do anything bad.

[LAGC]

170. Do you really think the undercover cop who BUSTED Larry Craig IN THE ACT was setting him up?

C'mon, now I've heard it all...

How could you ever compare Larry Craig's "wide stance" with this obvious smear campaign?

[wookie72]

175. Not the point.

The point being that when it's the "other guys," people are much less willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and call them "innocent until proven guilty."

No, Craig was no set up. But if people are serious about justice they shouldn't automatically assume the worst about people they hate and the best about people they like. That's all.

Read more into if you want, it wasn't my intention.

[Smarmie Doofus]

110. How do you *know * this?

>>>>just take the high road and say that it has nothing to do with WIkiLeaks. Because it doesn't.>>>>>

>>>Because it doesn't. >>>

[wookie72]

116. You misinterpreted what I wrote..

Of course it's possible that there could be a conspiracy against him. Maybe even likely. But when I wrote "it has nothing to do with WikiLeaks," I mean that when bringing up what the Wikileaks material actually has to say, Assange's guilt or innocence on an unrelated charge is immaterial. Scott Ritter did not lose credibility as an expert on Iran and Iraq due to his guilt or innocence.

[Iggo]

149. If it walks, talks, shits, and smells like a setup...

...just take the high road?

Thank you, sir. May I have another?

[wookie72]

160. Yes take the goddamn high road.

By which I mean concentrate on the DOCUMENTS THEMSELVES, not go looking for conspiracies.
Because gee, I thought the documents were more important than the man himself.

[Iggo]

165. Fuck the high road.

If I smell bullshit, I'm calling bullshit.

[wookie72]

177. And so am I...

I'm sick of this attitude that all "our guys" are Simon Pure and have nothing ever wrong with them, whereas "their guys" are inherently evil.

If the situation was reversed, Beck and his idiots would be the ones calling setup while people here would be saying that the accusers were somehow intimidated into silence.

[Iggo]

178. If I saw that attitude, I'd be sick of it, too.

But that's not what I'm saying.

I'm just able to think about more than one thing at a time: the documents, and this clumsy attempt at a setup.

You've got to get out of this either/or kind of thinking. The documents and the setup are two completely different things and one can be discussed without negating the other.

I'm not going to look away from it just because you say something else is more important. It's not "off the table", in other words.

[wookie72]

89. However, there is something Rovian about this

Namely the idea of "attack the strength," not the weakness.

If - and I am saying if - this is a sting, the thinking behind it could be "so Assange believes in no privacy, huh? Well, we'll give him no privacy."

But it's not a question of him being either a heroic boon to whistleblowers or a pervert. He could be both.

[BootinUp]

90. lol, well put. nt

[Hissyspit]

92. "He could be both."

Keep catapulting the propaganda.

[wookie72]

98. Grow up

Let's say he actually is convicted. Will you continue the "he was set up" line? 'cuz that's pretty much OJ territory.

[Robb]

103. Good analysis.

There are poets in the Pentagon, so to speak.

More interesting will be the bets on the first talking head to suggest the entire Afghanistan docs leak was an attempt by Assange to divert attention from his pending rape trial.

Laugh, but I bet we'll see someone suggest that on TV before Monday.

[BootinUp]

105. well that is how stupid our media coverage

has become. I did laugh, just before I thought about it.

[MilesColtrane]

101. Hmmm...

Is someone manufacturing a reason for him to "commit suicide".

They don't want any inconvenient questions like with David Kelly.

"Gee...all that stress from the rape and molestation charges really got to him. He couldn't take it any more so he killed himself."

[BootinUp]

102. CNN: Is Assange the target of a US Smear Campaign?

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/21/smear-campaign-suspected-in-assange-arrest/?hpt=T1

Nothing but speculation of course.

[Downwinder]

114. Julian, welcome to the world of celebrity. n/t

[rocktivity]

121. The charges have been dropped -- no basis

Surprise Surprise Surprise!

:eyes:
rocktivity

[Downwinder]

122. Just a warning. "Look how easy it would be." n/t

[Occulus]

162. except that this was an obvious and amateurish attempt

and they've lost any credibility they may have had in using it, and blowing it.

I for one won't believe a damn thing the DoD says about Assagne or Wikileaks from this moment forward, and I don't think anyone else should, either. They have motive to malign and all their words on the subject are therefore suspect.

[TroglodyteScholar]

124. Warrent withdrawn...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_SWEDEN_WIKILEAKS?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=HOME

Wow, was THAT ever fast...

[starroute]

131. Likely to be a result of the Pirate Party deal

So far as I know, Sweden had no particulr interest in Wikileaks until that.

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-strikes-hosting-deal-with-wikileaks-100817/

August 17, 2010

During his visit to the the Swedish capital Stockholm, Wikileaks spokesman Julian Assange struck a deal with the local Pirate Party. The Party, which participates in the national elections next month, will host several new Wikileaks servers to protect the freedom of the press and help the whistleblower site to carry out its operation. . . .

One of the political parties that has shown interest in helping Wikileaks is the Swedish Pirate Party. Two weeks ago they offered to host the whistleblower site, and during a visit to Sweden Wikileaks’ Julian Assange accepted this offer and signed a deal.

“I’m delighted that we’re able to help WikiLeaks,” Pirate Party leader Rick Falkvinge told TorrentFreak in a response to the news that was made public today.

“I love opportunities to demonstrate that one of the biggest differences between us and the other parties is that we positively leap at any and all changes to take real responsibility for changing the world, rather than just commission reports and avoiding blame like the archetypal politician,” Falkvinge added.

[IndianaGreen]

139. Unrec because the story has been debunked

I am certain the neocons and neolibs that want to maintain a permanent state of war are disappointed that the CIA's dirty trick did not work as well as Dr. David Kelly's suicide.

[Odin2005]

146. It's a setup by the PTB, I don't believe a word of it.

[madmom]

150. So even if it were true (and I'm not saying it is by any means) would that

make the videos we've all seen any less real? I mean do we believe our lying eyes again or what?