Wednesday, December 08, 2010

The Assange "rape" issue

I had been planning on writing up a quick summary of this issue, providing some links to other pieces which I felt covered it in better detail than I was inclined to, and offer some comment.

I've decided not to do that.

Why?

Because, I realized yesterday, the entire Assange rape hoopla is distracting everyone from the real issues, namely the leaked information itself, and the attempted suppression of the Wikileaks site. The fact that Assange is in trouble in Sweden is irrelevant, it's an obvious case of media misdirection, and we're falling for it. Yesterday, the number of stories covering the suppression of the Wikileaks site was substantially reduced from the previous day, and coverage of the content of the leaks themselves had dropped to nothing. Virtually everything was devoted to Assange's arrest in the UK, and people's response to it.

If you think that's a coincidence, you are kidding yourself. Every minute we spend worrying about the Assange sex charges, we are doing exactly what we are expected to do, namely, pay attention to something other than what embarrasses the United States government.

I, for one, am not interested in playing along.

It is also true, however, that the Assange sex charges would be a worthwhile story in and of themselves, so here are the links I was going to post. I offer them without explanation or comment:

Taki's Magazine: Julian Assange’s Honey Trap: That’s Rape in Sweden

Counterpunch: Making a Mockery of the Real Crime of Rape: Assange Besieged

In Mala Fide: Neocon cowardice, girls who cry rape, and why we must stand behind Julian Assange, Julian Assange was accused of rape by Anna Ardin, a radical feminist who was out for revenge, and UPDATE II – The name of Julian Assange’s other false rape accuser is Sofia Wilén

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