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By your own argument Assange has elevated himself above criticism by putting himself in the firing line. Any reported failing, minor or serious, can be attribut
by MrScruff 14y ago
By your own argument Assange has elevated himself above criticism by putting himself in the firing line. Any reported failing, minor or serious, can be attributed to media bias/conspiracy and safely ignored.
Isn't that exactly what the article was getting at? That the wikileaks movement has turned into a personality cult where it is forbidden to express any form of doubt about dear leader?
You call the job high risk, low reward. For someone that appears to exhibit strong narcissistic tendencies I would say the 'reward' has been anything but low.
- richardjordan 14y agoNo that doesn't follow at all. However a skepticism of attacks on whistle blowers is necessary, given the risks they take. The idea that it's a reward to be living under effective house arrest despite having no charges leveled against him because he faces the real threat of being handed over to the custody of a nation which has demonstrated its willingness to ignore laws and intern without trial for years on end its enemies, is facile.
- MrScruff 14y agoI have no problem with some level of scepticism. However having read a number of articles from both sides regarding his alleged offences, I see no evidence of conspiracy. The fact that he is a celebrity cannot deter the Swedish authorities from pursuing the allegations against him.
- richardjordan 14y agoI think the article linked to below is about as good as there is about the Sweden nonsense. He has been charged with nothing for good reason and the case was dropped for good reason. The idea that he is under no risk of extradition to the US if he goes to Sweden is nonsense, their track record is clear. If it were about the case then remote questioning would have been fine and if there were charges to be filed they could have done. But it's clearly about getting him to the US and muddying his name with vague allegations that resonate with his core constituency on the left.
- MrScruff 14y agoWe can all find articles supporting one view or another. I'm not sure if this discussion is headed anywhere useful though. You may regard the proceedings against him as 'nonsense', and 'clearly' an attempt at mudslinging. But in reality neither of us can know either way, it's all supposition.
- richardjordan 14y agoWhich is the intention of mudslinging. It's not to settle anything. It's to make the target lose support without ever really being able to do anything about it. It's been very effective in this case.