AIBU that I support Julian Assange‘s quest for asylum?

[deepwatersolo]

I can very well understand that as a feminist one cringes at what transpired about Assange‘s treatment of women, and I would have supported him facing an investigation and potentially a trial in Sweden.
At the same time, I believe he did us a service in revealing all kind of hidden agendas by states and global players, behind the backs of the people. (I absolutely do not buy into the idea that Assange is an agent of Putin - this may be a contentious issue for some here, too). Today it has transpired that Assange has been secretly indicted by the US.
I think of supporting a campaign to secure his asylum. On principle. Even though I don‘t particularly like him. AIBU?

I think he's stupid. He's just spent several years inside a prison of his own making. Unsure why the Ecuadorians agreed to go along with it. The Wikileak stuff I read was really boring. I also think it's OK for countries to have secret documents. I have stuff I don't want published. Add that to the alleged rapes and I'm happy for him to stay locked in that embassy forever. Let any pets out and reduce the size of his room. Don't spend any tax payers money on him. Stop the security.

He's a snivelling pathetic little shit and I hope they take the cat off him

Is my view, too.

YANBU. We should protect whistleblowers for the reason you mention in your OP, even if they're not upstanding citizens or nice people. If we allow an unsympathetic whistleblower to be secretly charged, or framed, as the Icelandic government says the US sent agents to do, we set a precedent for other whistleblowers.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't criticise their actions, but I despair at the regurgitated hate spewed because The Guardian and The Telegraph have picked out the silliest-sounding details from the report about the conditions Assange is being kept under and mocked him for them. It's that Orwellian thing again where the mainstream media trivialises the issues and tells us who we must hate. And we obey!

The way that he treats that poor cat tells you everything you need to know about hm. Selfish arsehole.

Assange has asylum already. The UK authorities cannot enter the building because the embassy is a sanctuary.

Assange is asking for something more: he wants to leave the building and flee the country without having to face the charges of breaking his bail conditions and failing to appear at court.

I cannot think of any circumstances where a court would agree to this. I have, however, seen defendants and their solictors turn up to court, face the music and make a strong case with reasons why they ought not to be punished.

The sooner Assange realises that he is not immune from prosecution for bail offences, the quicker he can make plans to leave. He needs to put on his big boy pants and demonstrate some integrity.

He’s a Russian stooge. The US RNC and DNC were hacked yet wiki leaks only publishes the latter? Dodgy as fuck. If it was all about releasing important political info like a journalist, why so one-sided?

Asante neglects his cat even though he has fuck all to do each and every day. For that alone, he's a piece of shit.

This. Plus. He’s a fucking twat who wants to sue the people who’ve given him asylum for all these years?

Narcissistic piece of shit. Fuck him.

spits

The weird coda to this in Australia is that our Prime Minister, who has the maturity of a teenage boy, made sleazy remarks about Pamela Anderson in response to her representations on Assange's behalf which hs made her angry.
I think Assange should have gone to Sweden right at the beginning. I don't respect him at all and I dont think you can cancel out rape with other 'right on' action.

Interesting interview with Andrew O'Hagan, former supporter of and ghost writer for Assange.

www.vox.com/conversations/2017/6/6/15729360/julian-assange-andrew-ohagan-secret-life

Interesting indeed. The man is a raging narcissist. What's interesting, imo, is the way that actually draws some people (mostly men) to him and makes them admire him more, the same way it does for Trump.

O'Hagan is a serious and thoughtful journalist with sufficient integrity to admit he got it wrong. I was impressed by what he said.

I meant Assange.

Yeah, I guess, with separating the acts from the persona, I‘m in the clear minority here. I still think wikileaks‘, and therefore Assange‘s contribution to transparency were valuable. I mean, it is not like his Opponents, the Secret Services and largely unaccountable State Powers are paragons of integrity and healthy minds ( the current Head of the CIA was a mastermind of the US Torture program, who according to colleagues was Turned on by torturing people, ffs).

AngryAttackKittens

I meant Assange

Oh goodness yes, I know that. I didn't think you meant Andrew O' Hagan was a narcissistic.