Julian Assange was arrested today in Britain. Here’s some background on the charges
Assange has an editorial in today’s Australian.
How is Wikileaks like L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry?
Visa and Mastercard have cut off Wikileaks too, and will likely face the same sort of hacker retribution Paypal already has.
This is in the rolling coverage at the Guardian, so you’ll have to scroll for it, but Charles Arthur notes that while you can’t use Visa and Mastercard to contribute to Wikileaks, you can still use both cards to contribute to the Ku Klux Klan, an organization that has been convicted of illegal activities in the past.
Julian Assange is in the running for Time’s Person of the Year. And he’s leading the online voting pretty handily.
I say this because I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that just because I may admire Assange’s work with Wikileaks, he can’t possibly be a rapist. It is entirely possible that he is both.
2 responses
Interesting point about the “sex by surprise” charge. Just to be clear, what exactly is the allegation (I have read several articles but still don’t fully understand). Was it:
a) He was told to stop and refused?
b) They asked him to wear a condom and he did not put one on, and then they had consensual sex NOT AWARE he was not wearing a condom?
c) They asked him to wear a condom, he did not put one on, and then they had consensual sex AWARE he was not wearing a condom?
If a), then I am in full agreement that we are talking about rape.
If b), I find it hard to believe (but not impossible) that they would be having sex and unable to discern that he was not wearing a condom.
If c), I don’t think this rises to the level of criminal activity.
As a feminist, I understand where you coming from, but all signs point to this being a witch hunt. Here is a view from a feminist lawyer: http://bigthink.com/ideas/25295
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