Shit-Stir Wednesday

[redstapler]

-Okay, kids, it's time to talk about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.

Did he rape those women? I don't care. Or rather, it's not relevant to the conversation that should be happening about what he's doing with information and why it's got the US and world banks scared. The rapes are a red herring. Do you really, seriously, sincerely believe that

Comments

[rm]

Yuletide!

Swedish rape law is really different from US rape law in a way that provides nuances that I don't think we're comfortable with whether we're coming from the "all rape is rape" perspective or the "murky bad shit happens between people with pre-existing relationships." It's certainly made coverage of the whole mess extra bad and confusing. I think he did it too, and I think it's also exactly like the fucking Al Capone thing.

[redstapler]

It's just so maddening to read essay after essay discussing why we should take the rape charges more seriously than the fact they're appearing when they are. And it's people whose writing I like! Whose intelligence I trust and respect!

What the hell!

[rm]

It's become another topic I'm wary of discussing publicly, for reasons that are probably pretty obvious.

[redstapler]

It's hit the saturation point where either you can have one opinion or the other, but god forbid both.

[firynze]

I've got some huge problems with this whole thing.

I'm absolutely WROTH over the number of people I've seen saying "it's a smear job, what he did isn't even rape!" because...well, what he's accused of is rape. And he did himself no favours by evading questions and then ditching the country when he knew he was wanted for questioning. He does need to stand forth and address the charges

[redstapler]

Beautifully said.

[firynze]

Damnit, why do sketchy creeps have to run important, useful organizations?

[redstapler]

Because you have to have a certain level of ego and disregard for others to get to that kind of power?

[lowercaseyou]

i'm skipping over all the wikileaks/rape stuff.

i was reading all kinds of stuff about elizabeth edwards last night and it just made me cry cry cry. makes me sad that cancer keeps ripping beautiful/wonderful people from this world.

[redstapler]

I just so wish Elizabeth Edwards had been the career politician, instead of John.

But, as I said above, you have to have a certain level of ego and disregard for others to get to that kind of power, and that clearly wasn't her bag.

[lwoodbloo]

It saddens me that she's dead and the vacant suit SOB that she married walks the earth.

[redstapler]

WORD.

[coyotegoth]

Huh; I used to walk over the Queensborough every night after work. I could have waved!

[rthecuban]

The BBC had a good article about the arrest / etc. In addition to what that Gothamist article mentioned:

"The case may turn on if or when consensual sex turned into non-consensual sex - is a male decision not to use a condom a case of that, for example?

Under Swedish law, Mr Assange has not been formally charged. He has merely been accused and told he has questions to answer.

The process is for the prosecutor to question him to see if a formal criminal accusation should then be laid before a court.

There would then be a hearing in front of some lay people to see if that formal charge should go to a formal trial."