What an absolute travesty that this man lost 12 years of his life for exposing atrocities committed by the USA. It proves yet again that, whether they are poor uneducated souls sent to fight in some immoral conflict, or whistleblowers committed to exposing truth, all Australian governments are simply unable to resist sacrificing Australian lives in sycophantic compliance to our powerful allies.
The ALP had the guts to apply diplomatic pressure for what it was worth. The LNP were happy to leave him to swing in the breeze.
"The charges against Mr Assange sparked outrage among his many global supporters, who argued that he, as the publisher of WikiLeaks, should not face charges typically used against federal government employees who steal or leak information."
Imagine prosecuting an ally county journalist this way. Australia is just a vassal state...
While I 100% agree... the LNP would have had to have been trying to do diplomatic efforts with Trump... we saw how "happy" he was about the refugee relocation deal that was signed with Obama.
That said, the LNP should have been doing something, instead of kowtowing to the USA (again).
What about the more than one million Americans that lost their lives due to the abject incompetence of Donald Trump? Assange was instrumental in getting him elected so 12 years for playing a part in a million deaths could well be seen as getting off lightly.
Not more instrumental but instrumental nonetheless. And you’re accurate when you say they didn’t try to hide their agenda. Assange did. His agenda has little to do with journalistic activism and much to do with ego. He played the game, he paid the price. Are you suggesting there be no consequences whatsoever for revealing state secrets?
Wait…what? So he ‘published’ something but didn’t ‘reveal’ it. Is that not just semantics? And how is it propaganda and speculation? Is what he did not very evident? Did he not openly admit to it? Or do you mean that what he published wasn’t really state secrets so claiming they were is propaganda? These are genuine questions so I’d appreciate genuine answers - I can see myself getting into a lot of debates as the hype around his return increases, so I figure I best get across as many facts / arguments as possible.
Wow dude! Inform yourself.
A secret is *revealed* by someone to whom it was entrusted. That would be Manning and the other sources that provided information to Wikileaks and various other media outlets.
In order to receive a state secret, you must first agree to keep the secret in confidence. This is typically by oath, when you join the military or enter into other government service. Assange never did this and never agreed to keep anything secret. This is a vital point.
First amendment rights to freedom of speech in the USA are \*NOT\* constrained by an imposition of secrecy (state-sanctioned, or otherwise). Once a media outlet or individual becomes aware of information, they are not constrained in publishing that information - free speech is a vital and paramount liberty in any true democracy.
Assange was charged with espionage. It was not about revealing the secrets or publishing them. (Manning, who has the obligation to keep the secrets safe but revealed them, was charged and convicted for those offences.) The allegation was that he engaged in espionage to obtain them.
The charge of espionage against Assange was an incredible overreach by the US government and Assange's actions did have any of the typical attributes of espionage. If Assange was guilty of espionage, then so is virtually every other editor and publisher in the western media.
This was all about using the coercive power of the state to seek revenge and trample critical rights of free-speech -- the criminal behaviour of the US military was exposed to the public and someone had to pay. Notwithstanding the horrible personal cost to Assange, the entire affair has set a a frightening precedent.
We can now look forward to the imprisonment and execution of journalists around the world when those journalists expose information that embarrasses governments. Australia and USA have now effectively condoned such outrageous future conduct.
I strongly disagree. The population of the USA got the president they voted for and they voted that way because they had let the foundations of their democracy erode over many years.
If you claim that exposing information which existed lost them the election, then that is basically saying that the truth lost them the election.
If they don't prosecute trump and their don't imprison him, and given all the public of the USA knows about trump they still choose to elect him, then they will get the president they vote for and must sleep in the bed they have made for themselves.
If that means a fascist autocracy then that is what it will be.
It will be in SPITE of the rest of the world and many of their fellow country men's warnings
They have no one to blame but themselves.
They deserved to suffer because of who they elected? What about the people who didn't vote for him?
Do you think Australians deserve to suffer because of Scott Morrison?
This is some dehumanising shit rhetoric on a sub that's supposed to be at least partially, left leaning.
Fucking wake up to yourself. How is any of that Assange's fault?
Australians "should" get the government we vote for. Each of us have a responsibility to safe guard our civil liberties and our democracy. Can you honestly say you did enough to stand up to tyrants?
We enjoy a life of luxury and we have become complacent. We don't go to the street and protest and we for some reason hate protestors.
Assange stood up to tyrants and gave people the information they needed to see the truth. If they want to listen to sky news and fall into a fascist cult then that is a symptom of a larger problem.
It isn't dehumanising, you are the fuckwit who thinks Assange is somehow responsible for Trump getting elected and then also somehow responsible for the crimes trump committed and the deaths he caused.
Most people didn't vote for the government in the US. Most people don't vote for the parties in our governments either.
Saying people deserve whatever the fuck they get as a result is despicable. Do you think everyone in Russia or the Middle East deserve what they get when they elect a bad leader?
Did Germany deserve all the destruction because a third of them voted for Hitler?
Assange stood up to tyrants, maybe but he definitely helped others. He holds a share of the blame, even if you refuse to recognise it.
> Can you honestly say you did enough to stand up to tyrants?
lol look out for holy assange, he who can do no wrong
if assange didnt publish a single DNC email in 2016 it would have played out exactly the same way. he was just one of the outlets the russians were using to publish what they stole.
> if assange didnt publish a single DNC email in 2016 it would have played out exactly the same way.
Given how close that election was you can't say that with any real amount of confidence.
>he was just one of the outlets the russians were using to publish what they stole.
That's to say nothing of his unwillingness to publish information that he had about the RNC. I would disagree that even blanketly throwing around information is good, but Assange did worse than that when he condemned pro-democracy Afghanis and Belarussians to death.
i mean we can, because all that shit would have been published anyway. they were uploading their leaks to their website and emailing it to other outlets like gawker the whole time.
DNC emails were being published before wikileaks got involved
>That's to say nothing of his unwillingness to publish information that he had about the RNC
i've seen no good reason to believe that he ever had them in the first place. why would the russians give away the leverage they held over the party they were trying to help win the election.
>but Assange did worse than that when he condemned pro-democracy Afghanis and Belarussians to death.
?
>i mean we can, because all that shit would have been published anyway.
I just have no way to know if this is true or if it would have had the same impact. Counterfactuals are almost impossible to track because as soon as you change one thing everything else would have happened differently.
>i've seen no good reason to believe that he ever had them in the first place
You're right I think, I was mixing up the Trump campaign's pre-knowledge of the leaks. and thought these earlier hearings went further:
https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/comey-republicans-hacked-russia/index.html
>?
I can't be fucked digging through heaps of old shit, but dumping unredacted names of informants has consequences.
Belarus:
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/wikitargeted
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/21/600-charged-belarus-protests-lukashenko
https://www.rferl.org/a/wikileaks_belarusian_style_belarus_lukashenko/2254322.html
Afghans:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/10/afghanistan-war-logs-wikileaks-human-rights-groups
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-reportedly-outs-100s-of-afghan-informants/
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-charged-18-count-superseding-indictment
ALSO, grabbing those I completely forgot his little woopsy leaking Saudi HIV results. Luckily there shouldn't have been any ramifications for a silly mistake like that where they live.
https://www.newarab.com/news/wikileaks-violated-privacy-hundreds-arabs
i mean we know for sure that it would have been published anyway, because their leaks were being published on the russians website at the same time. gawker even managed to get their hands on early versions of some leaks that the russians hadnt finished properly sanitising yet (meaning we got a bunch of their metadata fingerprints all over them). maybe it wouldnt have hit as hard, but it was hitting pretty hard before wikileaks got involved.
>I can't be fucked digging through heaps of old shit, but dumping unredacted names of informants has consequences.
they didnt publish the unredacted cables, that was david leigh and luke harding printing the full key to a publicly available encrypted document in their book. wikileaks started hosting the unredacted version on their website after other websites had broken the story. im pretty sure the saudi HIV thing was part of that, too.
Even if you want to blame The Guardian for that (that isn't widely accepted) it was Wikileaks that gave them the unredacted copy in the first place. You don't get to act so cavalier with sensitive documents and also hand wave it as someone else's fault when they leak.
There's a reason intelligence agencies are so cagey around their information.
Serious question - were any charges laid as a result of the “atrocities” exposed by Manning + Wikileaks? My memory is that it was it all one giant circlejerk by the media.
Horrific
Shows how powerful PR/propoganda is, those that murdered civilians are frew, and the journalist who exposed it is locked up for over a decade!!!
And most people seemed ok with that?!?!
Horrific
The US must be pretty shit at propaganda then.
People are just reluctant to admit they were wrong on Assange. Dude literally had a show on RT.
The US committing warcrimes is bad. Assange is good. Its just not nuanced thinking.
He’s a thief, and a coward! He has no integrity, he simply stole data, that he coerced someone to provide, and without a thought for other humans, released the data for his own agenda!
There isn’t a shred of journalistic integrity or compassion!
He then ‘ran’ from the police.
The Ecuador government evicted him, and the reports of many sexual assaults by him, demonstrates the vile human he is.
No doubt the Aussie government will attempt to make hay.
Both US and Australian governments have a much greater tendency to lock up whistleblowers that tell the world about the bad things they do, and let the actual criminals go free.
So sad that this is what we've collectively let our democracies become.
I just want to cheer for him when he lands back on AUSTRALIAN RED SOIL.
COME ON JULIAN YOU'RE ALMOST HERE MATE, YOUR HOME IS CALLING.
12 YEARS IN A BOX, LET HIM LIVE.
Amazing. I can't believe it that it's actually happening and the US are going to let him escape with his life. I hope the trip to Saipan is not a trick. Can't wait for him to come home and be free.
I was extremely sceptical about reported deals a few months back, but looks like it's true. Glad I was wrong.
Now free McBride and Boyle.
I can't belive the ignorance on display from people elsewhere about the important role this guy has played in world politics.
All I ever hear is nasty vindictive arseholes.
Good on you Julian. One day I hope I can buy you a beer or two.
Sorry, but I don’t get your point / question. Are you saying that I’m a conspiracy theorist? If so, I’m not sure how you could infer that from what I wrote. Do you know the Seth Rich story? It’s actually a powerful criticism of conspiracy theories.
Reminder that whistleblowers should never expect protection, even if they're legally in the clear, the government will go after you anyways, and deal with you in less legal manners if possible.
This is why when you leak information you do it as privately and anonymously as possible, whistleblower "protection" laws are just to make people feel more comfortable so they don't take the proper steps and can be targeted easier.
Whistleblower? He hacked (or helped hack) into US govt systems to download troves of information, then basically published the lot for real journalists and others to pick thru. Nothing legal or ethical about it, the guy’s an anarchist and useful idiot for Russia and others that hate the US.
The hacking charges were never substantiated in court, so your claim is legally false.
As for Russiagate, [it was a beat-up](https://consortiumnews.com/2021/07/17/luke-hardings-hard-sell/). You're about 8 years behind the times believing that.
Russiagate is seperate to Assange/Wikileaks waiting to dump a heap of information damaging to Hilary Clinton until just before the election, clearly to influence the outcome in Trump’s favour.
No, he pleaded guilty to violating the [Espionage Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917). Do you know what that is? Do you know that if you are charged under the Espionage Act there is literally no way to win, short of securing a pardon from the US government? That you cannot use a truth defense or a public interest defense to win against that charge?
It's the US' secret legal weapon to overrule their own legal system. If you are charged under the espionage act, you'd better hope that public opinion is on your side, because it's become a political case, not a legal one.
Time to watch the USA have a collective aneurism rather than admit they were lied to about Assange for 15 years
BTW thank you Albo! This is the single most important thing you've done so far. Legend.
I wonder if the families of the 100 afghans he exposed to the taliban as having worked with the Americans will be as overjoyed as you guys.
Just kidding, the families all died with them.
Guardian "journalists" David Leigh and Luke Harding leaked those names. Not Julian. This is well documented, and has even been demonstrated in court. [\[1\]](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252489382/WikiLeaks-published-unredacted-cables-after-password-was-disclosed-in-book) [\[2\]](https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-pondered-poisoning-assange-court-told/919d931e-f6cf-4974-aa8c-6bcfcf9a51a8) [\[3\]](https://www.thenation.com/article/society/wikileaks-julian-assange-extradition/) [\[4\]](https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2020-09-26/guardian-assange-denial-deceptions/)
By the way, Luke Harding is the same hack [responsible for the Russiagate beat-up](https://consortiumnews.com/2021/07/17/luke-hardings-hard-sell/).
Wow, I was 100% convinced that he was already dead. That maybe he had been assassinated or tortured to death while imprisoned and that one day the media would say that he had been found dead. I'm glad to be wrong about this and I hope that Julian can enjoy some well deserved freedom from his longtime persecution.
I'm still worried about his safety and well being. The people who'd like to prosecute him don't like giving up prisoners, and they definitely don't take prisoners. Even if he gets back to Australia. Hell, he might not even make it out of Saipan.
> WASHINGTON/SYDNEY, June 24 (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to plead guilty this week to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that will end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia, ending a 14-year legal odyssey.
Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.
He is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing on the island of Saipan at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday).
Assange left Belmarsh prison in the UK on Monday before being bailed by the UK High Court and boarding a flight that afternoon, Wikileaks said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
"This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations," the statement said.
A video posted on X by Wikileaks showed Assange dressed in a blue shirt and jeans signing a document before boarding a private jet with the markings of charter firm VistaJet.
He will return to Australia after the hearing, the Wikileaks statement added, referring to the hearing in Saipan.
>https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wikileaks-assange-expected-plead-guilty-us-espionage-charge-document-says-2024-06-24/
When the 'news' told me we all hate him, they said he was pale and smelly. Nuff said, amirite?
'We' apparently can't stand to hear a word Roger Waters says, smh turn your backs on him he's dead to us, i'm told.
There's a pattern, and it only fools those without the faculties to see it.
It isn't uncommon for those who cannot meet their basic needs to become blind to the results. Noseblind, for example (in addition to becoming deranged, neurotic, mentally ill in general, of course)
This does not predispose a person to be perceptive to the needs of another being. For what it's worth to even say this.
My issue isn’t he was instrumental in exposing war crimes, good on him for that. But rather he did massive information dumps that didn’t redact anything, named people, and got people killed, but then claimed to be a journalist. Oh and he ran from rape charges.
Doesn’t change the fact he’s Putin’s mate though. I’m sure they can now have a catch up to blame the woes of the world on feminism and the decadent west…
He openly called Putin a beacon of democracy and regularly showered him with praise, the same Putin that has had hundreds of actual journalists arrested, convicted, jailed, tortured and just flat out killed.
source?
all this "boohoohoo assange is russian spy" bullshit is just people whining about the clinton email leaks. all that shit would have come out even without wikileaks (and was, before assange got involved).
Strawman much?
Never mentioned clinton or email leaks, Assange was on RT, a state run propaganda network praising Putin, praising Russia, and otherwise holding water for what is a repressive dictatorship, he had his own show on the network, promoting Russian state propaganda.
He also personally knew many handlers in the FSB, when Snowden first fled to Russia, he himself stated that Assange personally knew many of the FSB agents he was handed over to, and seemed to have set much of his transfer up.
If he isnt a Russian asset, its a heck of a lot of incredibly unbelievable conincidences that he was so closely tied with the Russians, refused to promote Russian whistleblowers and damning info on Russia, knew members of the FSB quite well and was on his own show on the state owned and run RT, fronting propaganda for Putin and calling him a beacon of freedom.
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-assange-tv/wikileaks-founder-to-host-kremlin-funded-tv-show-idUSTRE80P0TV20120126/](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-assange-tv/wikileaks-founder-to-host-kremlin-funded-tv-show-idUSTRE80P0TV20120126/)
Also not reading is the sign of ignorance, not a point of pride, whats more, the information on his association with the FSB, with RT and his comments on Putin are publicly available.
But please, continue to engage in blind hero worship and ignore all evidence that might compromise your fragile ego.
that article says nothing about assange praising putin or calling him a beacon of democracy, and AFAICT the tv show it talked about being set up never happened. why are you lying to us?
>But please, continue to engage in blind hero worship and ignore all evidence that might compromise your fragile ego.
mate why the fuck do you think i was asking for a source hahaha
It'd be amazing if Jordies interviewed him lol.
What an absolute travesty that this man lost 12 years of his life for exposing atrocities committed by the USA. It proves yet again that, whether they are poor uneducated souls sent to fight in some immoral conflict, or whistleblowers committed to exposing truth, all Australian governments are simply unable to resist sacrificing Australian lives in sycophantic compliance to our powerful allies.
The ALP had the guts to apply diplomatic pressure for what it was worth. The LNP were happy to leave him to swing in the breeze. "The charges against Mr Assange sparked outrage among his many global supporters, who argued that he, as the publisher of WikiLeaks, should not face charges typically used against federal government employees who steal or leak information." Imagine prosecuting an ally county journalist this way. Australia is just a vassal state...
While I 100% agree... the LNP would have had to have been trying to do diplomatic efforts with Trump... we saw how "happy" he was about the refugee relocation deal that was signed with Obama. That said, the LNP should have been doing something, instead of kowtowing to the USA (again).
What about the more than one million Americans that lost their lives due to the abject incompetence of Donald Trump? Assange was instrumental in getting him elected so 12 years for playing a part in a million deaths could well be seen as getting off lightly.
More instrumental than Rupert Murdoch, or Hannity, or a thousand other "journalists" who did not seek to hide their agenda? What nonsense!
Murdoch got him there, but Trump was the man with his hand on the tiller. The buck has to stop somewhere.
Not more instrumental but instrumental nonetheless. And you’re accurate when you say they didn’t try to hide their agenda. Assange did. His agenda has little to do with journalistic activism and much to do with ego. He played the game, he paid the price. Are you suggesting there be no consequences whatsoever for revealing state secrets?
Pure propaganda and speculation. He didn't reveal state secrets. If anything 'secret' was revealed, it was not revealed by him. He is a publisher.
Wait…what? So he ‘published’ something but didn’t ‘reveal’ it. Is that not just semantics? And how is it propaganda and speculation? Is what he did not very evident? Did he not openly admit to it? Or do you mean that what he published wasn’t really state secrets so claiming they were is propaganda? These are genuine questions so I’d appreciate genuine answers - I can see myself getting into a lot of debates as the hype around his return increases, so I figure I best get across as many facts / arguments as possible.
No it is not just semantics. Yes you should aquaint yourself with some facts.
NGL, I reckon that’s a pretty poor response to a request for a genuine answer.
Wow dude! Inform yourself. A secret is *revealed* by someone to whom it was entrusted. That would be Manning and the other sources that provided information to Wikileaks and various other media outlets. In order to receive a state secret, you must first agree to keep the secret in confidence. This is typically by oath, when you join the military or enter into other government service. Assange never did this and never agreed to keep anything secret. This is a vital point. First amendment rights to freedom of speech in the USA are \*NOT\* constrained by an imposition of secrecy (state-sanctioned, or otherwise). Once a media outlet or individual becomes aware of information, they are not constrained in publishing that information - free speech is a vital and paramount liberty in any true democracy. Assange was charged with espionage. It was not about revealing the secrets or publishing them. (Manning, who has the obligation to keep the secrets safe but revealed them, was charged and convicted for those offences.) The allegation was that he engaged in espionage to obtain them. The charge of espionage against Assange was an incredible overreach by the US government and Assange's actions did have any of the typical attributes of espionage. If Assange was guilty of espionage, then so is virtually every other editor and publisher in the western media. This was all about using the coercive power of the state to seek revenge and trample critical rights of free-speech -- the criminal behaviour of the US military was exposed to the public and someone had to pay. Notwithstanding the horrible personal cost to Assange, the entire affair has set a a frightening precedent. We can now look forward to the imprisonment and execution of journalists around the world when those journalists expose information that embarrasses governments. Australia and USA have now effectively condoned such outrageous future conduct.
I strongly disagree. The population of the USA got the president they voted for and they voted that way because they had let the foundations of their democracy erode over many years. If you claim that exposing information which existed lost them the election, then that is basically saying that the truth lost them the election. If they don't prosecute trump and their don't imprison him, and given all the public of the USA knows about trump they still choose to elect him, then they will get the president they vote for and must sleep in the bed they have made for themselves. If that means a fascist autocracy then that is what it will be. It will be in SPITE of the rest of the world and many of their fellow country men's warnings They have no one to blame but themselves.
Correct Leaders are a reflectiom of the voters
They deserved to suffer because of who they elected? What about the people who didn't vote for him? Do you think Australians deserve to suffer because of Scott Morrison? This is some dehumanising shit rhetoric on a sub that's supposed to be at least partially, left leaning.
Fucking wake up to yourself. How is any of that Assange's fault? Australians "should" get the government we vote for. Each of us have a responsibility to safe guard our civil liberties and our democracy. Can you honestly say you did enough to stand up to tyrants? We enjoy a life of luxury and we have become complacent. We don't go to the street and protest and we for some reason hate protestors. Assange stood up to tyrants and gave people the information they needed to see the truth. If they want to listen to sky news and fall into a fascist cult then that is a symptom of a larger problem. It isn't dehumanising, you are the fuckwit who thinks Assange is somehow responsible for Trump getting elected and then also somehow responsible for the crimes trump committed and the deaths he caused.
Most people didn't vote for the government in the US. Most people don't vote for the parties in our governments either. Saying people deserve whatever the fuck they get as a result is despicable. Do you think everyone in Russia or the Middle East deserve what they get when they elect a bad leader? Did Germany deserve all the destruction because a third of them voted for Hitler? Assange stood up to tyrants, maybe but he definitely helped others. He holds a share of the blame, even if you refuse to recognise it. > Can you honestly say you did enough to stand up to tyrants? lol look out for holy assange, he who can do no wrong
You are trying to disguise your claim which is that Assange is responsible. Just fuck off. I hear what you are saying and I think it is idiotic.
Putin also sends his regards.
if assange didnt publish a single DNC email in 2016 it would have played out exactly the same way. he was just one of the outlets the russians were using to publish what they stole.
> if assange didnt publish a single DNC email in 2016 it would have played out exactly the same way. Given how close that election was you can't say that with any real amount of confidence. >he was just one of the outlets the russians were using to publish what they stole. That's to say nothing of his unwillingness to publish information that he had about the RNC. I would disagree that even blanketly throwing around information is good, but Assange did worse than that when he condemned pro-democracy Afghanis and Belarussians to death.
i mean we can, because all that shit would have been published anyway. they were uploading their leaks to their website and emailing it to other outlets like gawker the whole time. DNC emails were being published before wikileaks got involved >That's to say nothing of his unwillingness to publish information that he had about the RNC i've seen no good reason to believe that he ever had them in the first place. why would the russians give away the leverage they held over the party they were trying to help win the election. >but Assange did worse than that when he condemned pro-democracy Afghanis and Belarussians to death. ?
>i mean we can, because all that shit would have been published anyway. I just have no way to know if this is true or if it would have had the same impact. Counterfactuals are almost impossible to track because as soon as you change one thing everything else would have happened differently. >i've seen no good reason to believe that he ever had them in the first place You're right I think, I was mixing up the Trump campaign's pre-knowledge of the leaks. and thought these earlier hearings went further: https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/comey-republicans-hacked-russia/index.html >? I can't be fucked digging through heaps of old shit, but dumping unredacted names of informants has consequences. Belarus: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/wikitargeted https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/21/600-charged-belarus-protests-lukashenko https://www.rferl.org/a/wikileaks_belarusian_style_belarus_lukashenko/2254322.html Afghans: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/aug/10/afghanistan-war-logs-wikileaks-human-rights-groups https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-reportedly-outs-100s-of-afghan-informants/ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-charged-18-count-superseding-indictment ALSO, grabbing those I completely forgot his little woopsy leaking Saudi HIV results. Luckily there shouldn't have been any ramifications for a silly mistake like that where they live. https://www.newarab.com/news/wikileaks-violated-privacy-hundreds-arabs
i mean we know for sure that it would have been published anyway, because their leaks were being published on the russians website at the same time. gawker even managed to get their hands on early versions of some leaks that the russians hadnt finished properly sanitising yet (meaning we got a bunch of their metadata fingerprints all over them). maybe it wouldnt have hit as hard, but it was hitting pretty hard before wikileaks got involved. >I can't be fucked digging through heaps of old shit, but dumping unredacted names of informants has consequences. they didnt publish the unredacted cables, that was david leigh and luke harding printing the full key to a publicly available encrypted document in their book. wikileaks started hosting the unredacted version on their website after other websites had broken the story. im pretty sure the saudi HIV thing was part of that, too.
Even if you want to blame The Guardian for that (that isn't widely accepted) it was Wikileaks that gave them the unredacted copy in the first place. You don't get to act so cavalier with sensitive documents and also hand wave it as someone else's fault when they leak. There's a reason intelligence agencies are so cagey around their information.
Serious question - were any charges laid as a result of the “atrocities” exposed by Manning + Wikileaks? My memory is that it was it all one giant circlejerk by the media.
Horrific Shows how powerful PR/propoganda is, those that murdered civilians are frew, and the journalist who exposed it is locked up for over a decade!!! And most people seemed ok with that?!?! Horrific
Assange is a Russian stooge who got innocent people killed and didn't give a shit if it helped with his perpetual quest for self-aggrandisement.
In the Manning case, they could not prove any deaths occurred due to the information sent to Wikileaks.
That is what the usa government wants you to think. To hate him more than the corruption he helped expose. Classic propaganda move.
The US must be pretty shit at propaganda then. People are just reluctant to admit they were wrong on Assange. Dude literally had a show on RT. The US committing warcrimes is bad. Assange is good. Its just not nuanced thinking.
wake up to yourself
Utter bullshit and discredited propaganda!
He’s a thief, and a coward! He has no integrity, he simply stole data, that he coerced someone to provide, and without a thought for other humans, released the data for his own agenda! There isn’t a shred of journalistic integrity or compassion! He then ‘ran’ from the police. The Ecuador government evicted him, and the reports of many sexual assaults by him, demonstrates the vile human he is. No doubt the Aussie government will attempt to make hay.
Lol!! No comment about the atrocities he revealed though? What an ignorant point of view.
It's not an arrogant view, it's factually correct. Two wrong don't make a right!
Jail war criminals, not journalists.
Both US and Australian governments have a much greater tendency to lock up whistleblowers that tell the world about the bad things they do, and let the actual criminals go free. So sad that this is what we've collectively let our democracies become.
I just want to cheer for him when he lands back on AUSTRALIAN RED SOIL. COME ON JULIAN YOU'RE ALMOST HERE MATE, YOUR HOME IS CALLING. 12 YEARS IN A BOX, LET HIM LIVE.
Amazing. I can't believe it that it's actually happening and the US are going to let him escape with his life. I hope the trip to Saipan is not a trick. Can't wait for him to come home and be free. I was extremely sceptical about reported deals a few months back, but looks like it's true. Glad I was wrong. Now free McBride and Boyle.
So important journos protected for speaking truth to power
Great news. Hope he gets the medical care he needs to fully recover, both physically and mentally.
I can't belive the ignorance on display from people elsewhere about the important role this guy has played in world politics. All I ever hear is nasty vindictive arseholes. Good on you Julian. One day I hope I can buy you a beer or two.
They're just salty that they were lied to and were too stupid to realise it
Maybe invite Seth Rich’s family to your little get-together. I’m sure they’d love to give him their best wishes also.
Your one of those nut jobs with a dozen conspiracy theories in your head?
Sorry, but I don’t get your point / question. Are you saying that I’m a conspiracy theorist? If so, I’m not sure how you could infer that from what I wrote. Do you know the Seth Rich story? It’s actually a powerful criticism of conspiracy theories.
Reminder that whistleblowers should never expect protection, even if they're legally in the clear, the government will go after you anyways, and deal with you in less legal manners if possible. This is why when you leak information you do it as privately and anonymously as possible, whistleblower "protection" laws are just to make people feel more comfortable so they don't take the proper steps and can be targeted easier.
what nonsense.
Is there a long line of whistleblowers who got protected you would like to point to?
Whistleblower? He hacked (or helped hack) into US govt systems to download troves of information, then basically published the lot for real journalists and others to pick thru. Nothing legal or ethical about it, the guy’s an anarchist and useful idiot for Russia and others that hate the US.
Please tell us what information he leaked.
The hacking charges were never substantiated in court, so your claim is legally false. As for Russiagate, [it was a beat-up](https://consortiumnews.com/2021/07/17/luke-hardings-hard-sell/). You're about 8 years behind the times believing that.
Russiagate is seperate to Assange/Wikileaks waiting to dump a heap of information damaging to Hilary Clinton until just before the election, clearly to influence the outcome in Trump’s favour.
Legally false? He pleaded guilty to espionage: case closed.
No, he pleaded guilty to violating the [Espionage Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917). Do you know what that is? Do you know that if you are charged under the Espionage Act there is literally no way to win, short of securing a pardon from the US government? That you cannot use a truth defense or a public interest defense to win against that charge? It's the US' secret legal weapon to overrule their own legal system. If you are charged under the espionage act, you'd better hope that public opinion is on your side, because it's become a political case, not a legal one.
Honestly I find it difficult to believe the US government let him off, if it really is the case he'll be free after the Saipan court hearing.
The US judge has the power to disregard any political deals made and could make him stand trial now he is in US jurisdiction.
pretty much. It will be a diplomatic incident.
now we just have to free David McBride...
It looks like he has been eating well.
Yes, it's very nice to see him like this.
Is he coming back to Australia?
No, he is going to the USA controlled island of Saipan.
Guys, can we call this as a win? I reckon we can take this W.
Amazing hes finally free!! Shocking hes been locked up for so long Respect for journalists
America: land of the free unless someone exposes them. Julian assange did the right thing and I'm glad he kept hanging on all the way.
Time to watch the USA have a collective aneurism rather than admit they were lied to about Assange for 15 years BTW thank you Albo! This is the single most important thing you've done so far. Legend.
12 years too late if we had true Australian ministers this wouldn’t of happened
I wonder if the families of the 100 afghans he exposed to the taliban as having worked with the Americans will be as overjoyed as you guys. Just kidding, the families all died with them.
Guardian "journalists" David Leigh and Luke Harding leaked those names. Not Julian. This is well documented, and has even been demonstrated in court. [\[1\]](https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252489382/WikiLeaks-published-unredacted-cables-after-password-was-disclosed-in-book) [\[2\]](https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-pondered-poisoning-assange-court-told/919d931e-f6cf-4974-aa8c-6bcfcf9a51a8) [\[3\]](https://www.thenation.com/article/society/wikileaks-julian-assange-extradition/) [\[4\]](https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2020-09-26/guardian-assange-denial-deceptions/) By the way, Luke Harding is the same hack [responsible for the Russiagate beat-up](https://consortiumnews.com/2021/07/17/luke-hardings-hard-sell/).
https://i.redd.it/71hpry9vpp8d1.gif
Afghans dying is bad? Okay then charge every US war criminal and Free David Mcbride.
Wow, I was 100% convinced that he was already dead. That maybe he had been assassinated or tortured to death while imprisoned and that one day the media would say that he had been found dead. I'm glad to be wrong about this and I hope that Julian can enjoy some well deserved freedom from his longtime persecution.
I'm still worried about his safety and well being. The people who'd like to prosecute him don't like giving up prisoners, and they definitely don't take prisoners. Even if he gets back to Australia. Hell, he might not even make it out of Saipan.
Where is he flying to? That information is very suspiciously absent from all news.
> WASHINGTON/SYDNEY, June 24 (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is due to plead guilty this week to violating U.S. espionage law, in a deal that will end his imprisonment in Britain and allow him to return home to Australia, ending a 14-year legal odyssey. Assange, 52, has agreed to plead guilty to a single criminal count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. national defense documents, according to filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. He is due to be sentenced to 62 months of time already served at a hearing on the island of Saipan at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday). Assange left Belmarsh prison in the UK on Monday before being bailed by the UK High Court and boarding a flight that afternoon, Wikileaks said in a statement posted on social media platform X. "This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations," the statement said. A video posted on X by Wikileaks showed Assange dressed in a blue shirt and jeans signing a document before boarding a private jet with the markings of charter firm VistaJet. He will return to Australia after the hearing, the Wikileaks statement added, referring to the hearing in Saipan. >https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wikileaks-assange-expected-plead-guilty-us-espionage-charge-document-says-2024-06-24/
ta, so "the island of Saipan at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday (2300 GMT Tuesday)".
So it turns out Putin’s little mate Assange was guilty. Even he admits it.
When the 'news' told me we all hate him, they said he was pale and smelly. Nuff said, amirite? 'We' apparently can't stand to hear a word Roger Waters says, smh turn your backs on him he's dead to us, i'm told. There's a pattern, and it only fools those without the faculties to see it.
He neglected his cat, that says all I need to know about him…
It isn't uncommon for those who cannot meet their basic needs to become blind to the results. Noseblind, for example (in addition to becoming deranged, neurotic, mentally ill in general, of course) This does not predispose a person to be perceptive to the needs of another being. For what it's worth to even say this.
That's your takeaway? Jesus, he's telling them whatever they need so he can fucking go home After 14 years I would too.
I TOO LOVE WAR CRIMES I LOVE THEM SOO MUCH WOOOOOO USA USA USA 🇺🇸 KILL ALL THE IRAQI CHILDREN RAAAAAAAAAA /s if it wasn’t obvious
My issue isn’t he was instrumental in exposing war crimes, good on him for that. But rather he did massive information dumps that didn’t redact anything, named people, and got people killed, but then claimed to be a journalist. Oh and he ran from rape charges.
Whistleblowers get a kangaroo court, not justice.
he wasnt indicted for anything related to russia. EDIT: lmao blocked for asking why he wouldnt provide any evidence hahaha
Doesn’t change the fact he’s Putin’s mate though. I’m sure they can now have a catch up to blame the woes of the world on feminism and the decadent west…
>Doesn’t change the fact he’s Putin’s mate though sure bud
He openly called Putin a beacon of democracy and regularly showered him with praise, the same Putin that has had hundreds of actual journalists arrested, convicted, jailed, tortured and just flat out killed.
source? all this "boohoohoo assange is russian spy" bullshit is just people whining about the clinton email leaks. all that shit would have come out even without wikileaks (and was, before assange got involved).
Strawman much? Never mentioned clinton or email leaks, Assange was on RT, a state run propaganda network praising Putin, praising Russia, and otherwise holding water for what is a repressive dictatorship, he had his own show on the network, promoting Russian state propaganda. He also personally knew many handlers in the FSB, when Snowden first fled to Russia, he himself stated that Assange personally knew many of the FSB agents he was handed over to, and seemed to have set much of his transfer up. If he isnt a Russian asset, its a heck of a lot of incredibly unbelievable conincidences that he was so closely tied with the Russians, refused to promote Russian whistleblowers and damning info on Russia, knew members of the FSB quite well and was on his own show on the state owned and run RT, fronting propaganda for Putin and calling him a beacon of freedom.
didnt see a link to your source, so i didnt read
[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-assange-tv/wikileaks-founder-to-host-kremlin-funded-tv-show-idUSTRE80P0TV20120126/](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-assange-tv/wikileaks-founder-to-host-kremlin-funded-tv-show-idUSTRE80P0TV20120126/) Also not reading is the sign of ignorance, not a point of pride, whats more, the information on his association with the FSB, with RT and his comments on Putin are publicly available. But please, continue to engage in blind hero worship and ignore all evidence that might compromise your fragile ego.
nothing more reliable than information from Canadas Murdoch
that article says nothing about assange praising putin or calling him a beacon of democracy, and AFAICT the tv show it talked about being set up never happened. why are you lying to us? >But please, continue to engage in blind hero worship and ignore all evidence that might compromise your fragile ego. mate why the fuck do you think i was asking for a source hahaha
What flavour of autism do you have?
Do you condone Julian’s mistreatment of his cat as well?
As much as I condone Richard Gere's abuse/use of gerbils! What's your point?
Putin was mates with George W Bush, even have pictures together.