A reality check on Assange's arrest
dave1008 :
10 Dec 2010 10:50:58am
As someone who finds myself supporting WikiLeaks more and more, I want to find a way to defend Assange without maligning or attacking the women who have accused him of rape. And while I do admit to feeling some glee (I'm not saying I approve, I am just noticing my feelings here) at the cyber-attacks on PayPal, Visa and MasterCard, the attacks on the women involved make me highly squeamish and I wish the people that are attacking them would aim their fire elsewhere.
But some elements of the case seem highly dodgy. I do want to find a way to talk about that without getting slapped-down as a misogynist. And yeah, some of that talk includes questioning what constitutes rape and should bring criminal charges, as opposed to what constitutes being a jerk.
Christine H :
10 Dec 2010 11:43:31am
I think the role of PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and Amazon is a key element of the case. I'm not sure what I think of the cyber-attacks on those companies, but I do think the fact that they have withdrawn services from an organization to punish it for its political activities is HUGE. Those companies, along with the banks, play such a huge role in the transfer of money that further refusals to provide services to their political opponents could seriously hamper free speech and political fundraising. Countries need to put laws in place to prohibit companies from withholding essential services--including those involving the transfer of money and data--from their political opponents.
Mike :
10 Dec 2010 11:45:42am
I do not applaud nor condemn the cyber war taking out Visa, Mastercard and PayPal. However it does reflect public opinion on these corporations caving in to pressure from the US government.
It is outrageous that you can use Visa, Mastercard and PayPal to give money to the KKK but not to Wikileaks.Dave Kimble :
10 Dec 2010 1:13:14pm
Some of the non-misogynist allegations about Assange's accuser Anna Ardin is that she is some kind of CIA agent. There is some truth to this. Go to http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=1315 , which is an anti-Castro website and read her article (in Swedish) "What Happens When Castro Dies?" which discusses regime change in Cuba. You can get it translated at http://translate.google.com Then ask yourself whether it is likely the CIA funds the website and has links to Ardin. No one will ever know for sure, of course, but she is not completely beyond their influence.
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