Do the charges against Julian Assange change your feelings about Wikileaks?

Considering the apparent absence of concern for the safety of any unredacted parties associated with the releases, I was already suspicious of his ethics.

However, my concerns about him don’t translate to a concern over Wikileaks. I’m ambivalent about the releases right now – but feel as if providing the information that it does Wikileaks prevents government impunity. Well, works against it at least.

No.

The behavior of the founder doesn’t have any bearing on whether or not releasing the documents was moral.

They wanted to get him 6+ months ago. The next day they reversed it. And now it is back. Odd how these things happen when they release shit.

The dude isn’t stealing the info. Someone gave it to him so he could take the fall for releasing it instead of them.

@history Investigations into the sexual assault allegations indicate that they are not political in nature.

I feel no different towards Julian Assange. Once I know what the charges are and whether he is guilty I may feel differently. I feel differently towards the authorities as is pretty clear they have dredged up these charges out of revenge.

Especially when the charge is for a “crime” existing only in Sweden—and as it becomes more apparent it wasn’t even that. “Sex by surprise”. Where is the surprise when the women themselves invited him over, when they themselves say that he wasn’t interested. But they wanted to sleep with him anyway – even more. And then complain for continuing to have sex when the condom slipped off :P
Sweden is yet again making fools of themselves – sadly. I used to like that country once.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/sex-by-surprise-at-heart-of-assange-criminal-probe/19741444

@flutherother That’s not true. The charges were first filed in Sweden on Aug 20, 2010, which was way before Wikileaks began publishing the cables.

@marinelife The timing makes it look very suspicious and Wikileaks began leaking material on Afghanistan back in July.

So Julian Assange isn’t properly housebroken and doesn’t subscribe to the feminist school of lovemaking, does that make a single male, playing the field with an insistence on riding bareback, or using a condom half heartedly into a serial rapist?

if so, the western world’s legal system is in for a torrid time. Is he irresponsible, and chauvinist? sure he is. This whole sorry episode highlights where male and female left wing politics part company…. in the bedroom.

@mammal The question is whether he broke Swedish law.

@marinelife don’t know i’m not fully versed in Swedish Law, but in general terms, in the European tradition, from what evidence is made available to the public domain, no, the charge is laughable. Sweden is struggling to get a grip on this issue, Sweden tends to take rape cases extrememly seriously, which is excellent news but in this case they may have tied themselves up in legal, political and ethical knots. Which is sad, because Sweden is a good place in many ways.