Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Emma M.'s avatar

How did he "allow himself to be sexually compromised" when all he did was have consensual sex with a woman, who wanted him to take an STD test?

Wanting results immediately, she went to the police, which is apparently not uncommon or strange in Sweden. She claimed police "made up" the rape allegation, that she was "railroaded," and insisted she had not been raped by Assange. There was also another woman who made an allegation of rape, and the evidence she presented to police was a condom that had never even been worn. The case was fabricated and pursued at the behest of high level politicians in Sweden at the bid of the UK and US.

https://newmatilda.com/2019/09/23/weaponising-rape-myths-and-consent-in-the-hunt-for-julian-assange/

I'm not sure what you think he could have done. Even if he had avoided having sex at all, the latter allegation could still have been made up.

Re: physical evidence, I think you underestimate how vulnerable physical evidence is compared to cryptographically secured documents that are transferred electronically. If determined, the state can always seize the former. What Assange pioneered was the 'secure dropboxes' used by everywhere now to deliver such documents to the press. He is also an accomplished software developer, having written numerous programs for various Linux distros (most of which are still maintained, although he's often been scrubbed out of the credits), and a pioneer in steganographic security.

I don't think you understand cypherpunks. I recommend reading up on them, and some of Julian Assange's work, such as his initial paper on leaks. To paraphrase the other Wikileaks cofounder Jacob Appelbaum (from memory), the state derives all its power from the use of force; what cryptography does is turn whatever they want into a math problem. Effectively, it denies the state their monopoly on violence.

Assange is one man. Some of his plea deal sucks, but what do you expect from him after over a decade of arbitrary detention and torture? You're asking too much from someone who endured that, what is he supposed to do, stay in prison forever? Whatever he agreed to, the fact he is free and can get back to work makes him far more dangerous to states than ever. With all due respect—I mean no offense—it's also more than a little silly to act as if this was some kind of plot to distract from your work when Assange is the most award winning journalist of all time, who broke countless stories far bigger than anything you've mentioned here.

Expand full comment
2 more comments...

No posts