Well ... and what do you say about Trump and his clear proven connections to Putin? Remember, it was a president who told in press conference after meeting Trump, that he trusts the word of Putin after the talk more about Russia did no influence into election as the same US agencies here told Russia did, including persons of Trumps inner circle!
Free speech isn't the point here... Assange is Australian, not a US citizen, and he did not commit the alleged crimes from US soil. Consequently, the US does not have the slightest right to sue Assange in court, no matter what US secrets he has published! Let's play devil's advocate if you're already bringing Russia / Putin into play with your question: Let's say Assange is American and this publication concerns Russian secrets etc... and now Assange is in Belarus, arrested by Belarus and Russia is seeking his extradition like the US did with the UK. Now what... all perfectly legal and OK? Anyone who says no here, but thinks Assange's extradition to the USA is good, is just hypocritical dumbass!
So you have (in America) Fox News and Wall Street Journal on the Right vs NBC, CNN and USA Today on the Left. For instance. So does someone who 'controls' Fox also 'control CNN ? I see it as two sides of the coin, with the bias towards the left. This doesn't happen in Russia or China - the bias is absolute.
Yes, that's right, but it is obscured. Note that it is insisted that RT and Shanghai Eye carry the YouTube footnote, "RT/SMG is funded in whole or in part by the Russian/Chinese government" but Fox News - CNN - NBC - CNBC - ABC do not carry any warning. As you've said in the beginning, their news is influenced by the lying, truth suppressing “intelligence officials" but they claim to be "independent". Ho-ho! Indeed. The BBC (once a pinnacle of non-biased reporting) is now just another cog in the American fake news machine.
The law, the US Constitution and its principles, are quite clear. The failure is that elected officials do not obey the law. They routinely violate the law and their oath of office. If our leaders are violating the law as it is now, what makes you think they will suddenly obey some new law you have written?
How do you reconcile your position in comparison to what Daniel Ellsberg did? Why is it a crime, what is the moral authority, to expose the criminal acts of government? What Ellsberg exposed were all TOP SECRET documents. What Assange exposed were not TOP SECRET, but rather more mundane documents. In my view, every citizen has an obligation to expose the criminal actions of government.
Julian Assange extradition order *** I just now read this again and it struck me that there are many (in my estimation) who believe that it is treasonous to reveal the criminal actions of government yet they defend the second amendment in order to stockpile weapons in anticipation of going to war against the American government ..... over the "right" to own them? Does anyone else detect a twisted standard here?
There are so many twisted standards, double standards, and rank hypocrisy present these days that it's impossible to believe anything the government and mainstream media say. Last year the Left abandoned the old standard of "my body my choice" in ordering everybody to take the clot shots, and now the old standard is suddenly back regarding abortion. It was perfectly legal and noble for the US to assert the Monroe Doctrine over Russian missiles in Cuba in 1960, but now when Russia does the same in Ukraine, Putin is portrayed as a war criminal. Bush, Blair and the rest invaded Iraq and Afghanistan under fraud, but when Russia invades Ukraine to deal with legitimate threats, it's a mortal sin. Sick puppies in today's government.
There is so, so much that grates on my nerves but this one following is the mother of buggery of every righteious standard that permeates EVERYTHING before and after the event. If there really were a God in heaven those you named would already be burning in hell.
Good point, but just so you are aware, the majority of those who want to see him hanged these days are not Conservatives. (as already brought up and discussed in this thread) I guess that would be an interesting question. Ask those who hate Assange the most what their opinions are about Libertarian rights and gun ownership. This is only an ill-imformed guess, but if I had to guess I'd say the majority of them are war-hawk Democrats and are in complete denial about what the majority who happen to be in their party think about gun issues. Either that or they believe in lots of government control but imagine it won't affect them personally too much. Then there seem to be many Progressives, like yourself, who seem to be under the delusion that Assange haters are Conservatives. Those who defend him the most and those who hate him the most happen to be voting for the same political party (at least in the US).
You're taking this discussion off topic. I agree that an analogy can be made there, but to be entirely fair there is really no comparison between the two; the situation of what Russia is doing in Ukraine is really much worse than what the US did in Iraq and Afghanistan. (If you want the talk about what the US did in Bosnia and Serbia, or in Libya and Syria, you might have a better case)
Personally I believe that was just a smear on his reputation. (no pun intended) But I believe it could be possible that was true, and if so I wouldn't really blame him. Losing his mind is almost entirely understandable given his circumstances. Can you imagine being trapped in a room for 7 years and constantly worrying about what will happen to you? No excercise or physical activity can limit blood flow through the body and brain. And then they had a camera watching him in that room the entire time. (sense of paranoia and little privacy) Of course his mental health has only continued to go down hill after they nabbed him, being put in practical solitary confinement and then the long prison lock-down due to the pandemic.
What the US and the west have done in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and so many other places have nothing at all to do with self defense. What we've done there is military aggression. That is but one tiny reason why Bush & Co were convicted of war crimes in Malaysia in 2014. What Russia is doing in Ukraine is self defense. If you don't realize that, it's only because you're not aware of all the facts. To remain on topic, regarding Julian Assange, you by all means HAVE offered an ill-informed guess about who supports him and who hates him. Your understanding of what's happening in Ukraine is equally ill-informed.
Please tell me that the same people all hot and bothered over classified documents held in the basement by a former President, aren't FOR any rando hacking 100,000s of classified documents and posting them on the internet.
So you wouldn't have an issue with someone hacking the Ukrainian military, and then that being exposed by a journalist? Would Ukraine?
Who would extradite him to Russia? No one. So why should Assange (have been) be extradited to the US?