| Submit your comments on this article |
| Down Under |
| Wikileaks NOT illegal |
| 2010-12-17 |
| You can't have Assange PM confirms finding by AFP Mark Dodd, December 18, 2010 12:00AM WIKILEAKS whistleblower Julian Assange had not broken any Australian laws, Julia Gillard said in a humiliating backflip from her earlier comments which revealed outrageous political harassment of an individual citizenyesterday. In an earlier statement, the Australian Federal Police said it had completed an evaluation of available material following the release of thousands of sensitive diplomatic cables and had found no breaches of Australian law. good The Prime Minister stressed that she was not suggesting the media had broken the law by publishing material from the cables. The "criminal act" she believed the affair was based on was the original theft of the classified material from the US military. Ms Gillard backed rapidly away from a comment she made on radio a fortnight ago that: "I absolutely condemn the placement of this information on the WikiLeaks website. It's a grossly irresponsible thing to do." But she said she still considered their publication grossly irresponsible. My people are enraged by the government interference in civic life and the meddling in the independence of the judicial process. She will support Assange or she will be out. Australian citizen Queensland-born Mr Assange, 39, who is fighting a bid by Swedish authorities to extradite him from Britain to face sex charges, was freed on bail yesterday by the High Court in London. Yesterday, lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC, Another Australian who I am quite proud of right now who is representing Mr Assange, questioned why Swedish state prosecutors publicly accused his client of rape before any charges were laid. well obviously because it was a politically motivated holding charge designed to pin Assange down, hamper his work and keep him in custody till the US can ram through laws to convict him then extradite him from Sweden. That is Government interference in the judicial process, wiping away hundreds of years of the independence of courts/policing. Goodbye freedom and the right of the individual to be free from state persecution. Assange is now our Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr Robertson told ABC radio the Australian government should call in the Swedish ambassador to seek an explanation. or just expel them Ambassador Sven-Olof Petersson said in Canberra yesterday the issue had become too politicised. that's rich coming from him He said the Swedish government upheld the independence of its judiciary what a joke. nobody believes that of sweden now. and would not intervene in the Assange case. 'I'm really surprised that a highly respected judge (Robertson) should think the (Swedish) government should intervene with the Swedish judiciary." Mr Assange is staying with a friend at a country manor in Suffolk before his next court appearance on February 7 to contest the extradition request. Good luck Julian. For those who are interested they can check out the full page ads my countrymen have paid for in the New York Times. I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos. |
| Posted by:anon1 |
| #21 anon1, my dear, have you made your contribution to Fred yet? If not, you have just hijacked Rantburg, using it as your own personal blog. Your opinions are yours, and opinions are a major part of Rantburg. But the verbiage you espouse, against your fellow Rantburgers, shouldn't come free. Ante up or grow up --- we will listen to you, when we have some respect for you. And since you have “published” your opinion piece, then it is open to analysis by your fellow Rantburgers, not just on content, but in the readability, the awareness of proper grammar usage and punctuation rules. Do we now longer capitalize the first letter of a country? Like Sweden? And sentences no longer begin with a capital letter? Very interrupting and irritating when reading your words. You see, if you write an opinion piece, your stance is much stronger when you adhere to the writing practices that opinion writers use. Observing the rules of discourse, shows some thought, some judgement and some researching of facts that have gone into your opinion piece. Losing your audience – well, is just not good writing. I read so far, and between the distraction of the writing ability, I quit. Just for information, for your next opinion piece in Rantburg, consider that you have an audience of an online community with an above average educational/work experience background than you will find in most online community. This is known as Rantburg University and you are writing to the audience of Rantburg U. You posted your opinion, actually screamed it. So, it’s open to discussion, not only on content, but the skills your use to bring authority to your opinions. Maybe a mentor is needed, to get your writing skills up to standards that Rantburgers might be more willing to give you time in reading and discussing your thoughts. There are formulas that tells lots about a person’s writing skills. When writing an opinion piece, it’s extremely important that you first, write to your audience. 1. Your comments were written at a 9th grade reading level (that early high school for us). Not bad, considering the reading level of Rantburgers probably averages out at a high college level. For your information, the Gettysburg address came in at about 12th grade reading level. It was written on the back of a napkin, in a short period of time. (Google it – it’s a big part of our American history) 2. Sentence complexity? You bombed, bottomed out. On a scale of 1-100, you got a 25.... 3. Vocabulary complexity? Not so good in that arena either. Again, a scale of 1-100, you got a 25. 4. Convey your expertise of your subject..... “My people...” You own people? That gives me no confidence that you are an authority on the subject, so why should I even listen to you? Follow some “rules of the road” when expressing your opinion — you will gain more respect and your thoughts will be taken more seriously. Now, well my opinion of your posting? It's mine and I chose not to share it other than it was extremely difficult reading your posting. Oh, and go hit that contribution button for Fred. You will be a better person just knowing you did so. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2010-12-18 00:03 |
| #20 I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos. Unless this is meant for Snark of the Day, it is *bleep*ing hilarious. How long do you think Assange would last in the PRC as an enemy of the state? Assuming he did not get a bullet behind the ear on day one, he would be festering in jail for life next to the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-12-17 23:45 |
| #19 Pretty anon1 (she's a girl, Rob) has already accepted the cost in lives of the Kenya revelations. What's a few more collaterals added to the list? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-12-17 23:22 |
| #18 @newc what do the lives of those little peasants matter in such a "noble cause"... |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-12-17 23:16 |
| #17 A new law would be fine because this arrogant cod would continue to spew event after it was passed. Even so, just prosecute him under the espionage law. It's not the conviction that is important, it is the suffering. It will take a long, long time to sort it out. Discovery could take years. |
| Posted by: rammer 2010-12-17 23:13 |
| #16 Do not forget the names of the Nigerians and the Afghans. |
| Posted by: newc 2010-12-17 22:56 |
| #15 One of the cables mention an Algerian journalist (with full name) who told the US embassy about how election were rigged in Algeria. Those people who rigged it are in power today. Now guess what will happen to the journalist? That's Algeria, not Australia. And that's just one case we know of. BLOOD on his hands. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2010-12-17 22:13 |
| #14 So this "anon1" (coward) just lurves him a fellow who suborns treason, sells the information he gathered for profit, commits rape, and stalks underage girls? Charming. Luckily we know that such amorality is rare. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-12-17 21:28 |
| #13 What's he really released. Some embarrassing cables, not much more. No earth shattering revelations that I've seen. He's an irritant, not the grim reaper. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2010-12-17 21:27 |
#12 I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos. If prosecution of the agent of enemy powers pisses off Australians so much, well, no loss. (I betcha your sentiment is rare, though.) |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-12-17 21:27 |
| #11 Since the US Constitution does not permit ex post facto laws, Assange will have to be charged with existing laws. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-12-17 21:20 |
| #10 Good grief... have you shown this post (with your in-lines) to your parent or guardian? They may want your psychiatrist involved. I'm not kidding: if you touch Assange ANZUS is dead and we will take our chances with the Chicoms and the Indos. WHO appointed you spokesman? A family of mice? And on what planet did this occur?? |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-12-17 21:06 |
| #9 keep him in custody till the US can ram through laws to convict him then extradite him from Sweden Puleez. Our Congress can't even pass a goddam budget. Wat makes you think they can ram anything through short of a strap-on? |
| Posted by: badanov 2010-12-17 20:28 |
| #8 wewill take our chances with the Chicoms Assange is now our Aung San Suu Kyi. anon1, I think your Vegemite has gone bad. Those two statements are strong contenders for the dumbest things ever said on the 'burg. Hell, they'd be strong contenders for dumbest comments ever on lefty blogs. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2010-12-17 20:14 |
| #7 oooooooh! 4%. I have a lot of respect for Australians in general. You? not so much |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-12-17 19:45 |
| #6 Frank: you think I don't speak for the vast majority of my countrymen? Then check this out. Labour suffers in Wikileaks backlash - SMH. Support for Labour plummeted 4 per cent on the news. |
| Posted by: anon1 2010-12-17 19:33 |
| #5 US Federal laws broken are 18 U.S.C. 793(e) and 18 U.S.C. 641. |
| Posted by: wr 2010-12-17 19:27 |
| #4 FYI his leaked (ooooh praise be to transparency!) emails show that he's a creepy stalker |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-12-17 19:02 |
| #3 Espionage would be an American charge. He's guilty. Your tongue baths are tiresome |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-12-17 18:50 |
| #2 like you speak for all Australians, twit. Ask Grunter. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2010-12-17 18:49 |
| #1 I was never sure what color tripe is but now I know: YELLOW! |
| Posted by: twobyfour 2010-12-17 18:44 |