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Wikileaks: Hounding Julian Assange Is Illegal And Immoral

by | 6th, December 2010

WIKILEAKS has become forever tied with Julian Assange. The founder will not leave his British hideout and face those rather odd rape charges in Sweden. Wikileaks would continue to publish in his absence. But vanity is a powerful drug.

Anoraks readers are debating Assange:

A US readers writes:

FIRST, I’m not knocking Freedom of the Press even though there are times you well know I’ve spoken out against their publishing info on people’s private lives.

However that damn Confidentiality Agreement the CNN made a point of saying they didn’t sign it as found it unacceptable is really bugging me. I have to question if in fact money exchanged hands by those newspapers who got the information first. Why is the Guardian not addressing that?

Here is where I’m going with my thoughts – Freedom of the Press gave those who did not sign the Confidential Agreement the right to print what was exposed by Wikileaks via those five newspapers, who did sign that confidentiality agreement. Let’s say what I think we suspect is true and those 5 newspapers gave a ‘donation’ to Wikileaks for those documents. Would not those 5 newspapers by purchasing confidential documents of the US Government from a person/site who got them illegally be prosecuted also?

Alan White responds:

You are asking questions which I can not answer. Anything I thought was true and fact would be conjecture. Julian Assange is not an attractive individual and his primary motive may not be at all altruistic.

It would be folly to claim he was anti-USA, anti-Europe, anti-Israel, anti-Arab and anti-The Rest of the World – all at the same time..

He appears to be anti-closed files in government and probably (for all I know) anti-Freemasons and the Knight of St Columba too. I do not find that unhealthy since it is one of the tenets of my life that where secrecy reigns, tyranny takes root and flourishes.

The current institutional shyness and mock outrage is triggered by skeletons in cupboards which are not unique to any shade of government. Extreme left and right wing administrations are as guilty as each other and centrist collectives are just as prone to hide away their dirty linen.

I may or may not agree with Wikileaks but have to stand up and defend the right to the freedom to express it’s views. The claims people will die as a result of Wikileaks’ actions are a nonsense. Any repercussions are a result of the original actions rather than the fact of those actions being exposed.

It is also fair and proper the individual concerned should face similar scrutiny (as is happening).

What is of concern to me (and I think, Paul) is an individual is now being hounded by orchestrated state(s) action and that is offensive and (certainly in Europe) illegal.

I also defend and support your right to be able to critique Julian Assange and the position he appears to forcing on others. That’s the meaning of a Free Press.



Posted: 6th, December 2010 | In: Key Posts, Reviews Comments (7) | TrackBack | Permalink