THE BigO PLAIN-SPEAKING, STRAIGHT-TALKING NO B.S. CONTEST No. 21
August 17, 2012 – 8:08 pmWHAT ARE WE PROTESTING TODAY?
From left: Pussy Riot, Julian Assange, Bradley Manning and Jon Corzine.
If you read the mainstream media, you would think the whole world and Paul McCartney were rooting for a Russian punk band, Pussy Riot, to be freed from the clutches of evil Russian Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, that same Western mainstream media are camped outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London waiting for the British government to carry out their threat to do a forceful entry to grab Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. His own country, Australia, has done a Pontius Pilate and washed its hands of Assange. He dies, it’s his business.
You can read the charges against Assange here.
Why this case has arrived at such a boiling point may have more to do with what Assange and WikiLeaks have done in circulating information that was never meant for public scrutiny.
If anyone thinks Assange is overreacting and that he should let the “law” take its course, consider what Assange said from inside the safety of the Ecuadorian embassy:
“I am grateful to the Ecuadorian people, President Rafael Correa and his government. It was not Britain or my home country, Australia, that stood up to protect me from persecution, but a courageous, independent Latin American nation. While today is a historic victory, our struggles have just begun. The unprecedented US investigation against WikiLeaks must be stopped. While today much of the focus will be on the decision of the Ecuadorian government, it is just as important that we remember Bradley Manning has been detained without trial for over 800 days. The task of protecting WikiLeaks, its staff, its supporters and its alleged sources continues.”
Pussy Riot are in “big trouble” with Big Bad Putin?
What do you think?
Your no B.S. comments will earn you a pass to free music.
SIDENOTE: From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com: A slavering crook like (Jon) Corzine* who stole US$200 million of clients’ funds can walk free. Meanwhile, a man who exposed evidence of serious war crimes is for that act so keenly wanted by US authorities that Britain has threatened to throw hundreds of years of diplomatic protocol and treaties into the trash and raid the (Ecuadorian) embassy of another sovereign state to deliver him to a power that seems intent not only to criminalise him, but perhaps even to summarily execute him. The Obama administration, of course, has made a habit of summary extrajudicial executions of those that it suspects of terrorism, and the detention and prosecution of whistleblowers. And the ooze of large-scale financial corruption, rate-rigging, theft and fraud goes on unpunished. Read more here.
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THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST JULIAN ASSANGE
Anna Ardin said condom broke.
Sofia Wilen had sex twice with Assange and was worried she contracted a sex disease.
In August 2010, Assange was accused of having unprotected sex with two Swedish women on two separate occasions. The two women are Anna Ardin and Sofia Wilen referred to as Ms A and Ms W in the recent August 19, 2012 editorial in The UK Guardian. The editorial states “their allegations that Mr Assange sexually assaulted them two years ago… are the reason why the WikiLeaks founder faces extradition to Sweden”.
Assange has always maintained that the sex was consensual. But Sweden has an unusual sex law - “it holds that if a woman withdraws her consent at any point during intercourse, and the man continues, it becomes rape. This transition from consensual to non-consensual sex is what Assange is accused of.”
Wikipedia states that both women went to the police on August 20 to request that Assange be arrested and made to take a HIV-test.
All this has now led to Assange being holed up in the Eucadorian embassy in London. The world has more serious problems to tackle like all the accusations that WikiLeaks documents suggest.
Read more here: Sex Accusers
and here: Assange vs Swedish Prosecution Authority
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Contest No. 01 / Contest No. 02 / Contest No. 03 / Contest No. 04 / Contest No. 05
Contest No. 06 / Contest No. 07 / Contest No. 08 / Contest No. 09 / Contest No. 10
Contest No. 11 / Contest No. 12 / Contest No. 13 / Contest No. 14 / Contest No. 15
Contest No. 16 / Contest No. 17 / Contest No. 18 / Contest No. 19 / Contest No. 20
27 Responses to “THE BigO PLAIN-SPEAKING, STRAIGHT-TALKING NO B.S. CONTEST No. 21”
Sure.It is a big problem for him if some other groups have the same actions against him.
By Rochacrimson on Aug 18, 2012
the us gov got embarrassed by the stuff in wiki leaks. all governments keep stuff secrete.
thanks for the music
By whdup on Aug 18, 2012
As Kissinger once said,
“America has no friends
we have only interests.”
Price of doing business.
By Billy Jack on Aug 18, 2012
It is indeed a sad state of affairs when the “land of the free and home of the brave” can stomach neither freedom nor bravery in someone else acting counter to their own vested interests. To paraphrase Peter Boyle - Information by its very nature will ALWAYS struggle to be free. It must not (and indeed cannot) be kept secret for long.
Wish I could remember his exact quote…
By golgo hakase on Aug 18, 2012
Freedom of speech may not be recognized in all countries but authoritarianism is universal. When the paranoid are in power the citizens suffer. Only politicians are above the law.
or as John Kay said:
“You’re free to speak your mind my friend.
As long as you agree with me.
Don’t criticize the fatherland.
Or those who shape your destiny.
‘Cause if you do.
You’ll lose your job, your mind and all the friends you knew.
We’ll send out all our boys in blue.
They’ll find a way to silence you.”
Unfortunately this is nothing new.
By sking on Aug 18, 2012
i so prefer music oriented subjects. i hate political ones. normally i wouldnt know what the gift free cd is but knowing that its a band that i love from the bbc 79 means i have to post some sort of comment here. heh.
so…
i think the people of the usa at least (i cant really speak for other countries since they dont have our type of government and free thinking people) have the right to know what the giverment here think it is best to hold back from them in their infinite wisdom. they feel that the people who voted them into office are too stupid or not equipped emotionally psychologically or mentally to handle certain things so they keep them secret. maybe in many cases theyre right but i think theyre going by the mindset of the average educated individual from the 40s thru 60s and not the currently educated man or woman from todays world.
todays people arent just willing to just turn a blind eye to everything and say let god handle things its too much for me. they want a hand in things. they want involved. they want to know. and i think our govt owes it to us to divulge what it deems as secrets.
other countries? they probably cant handle it. hehe (wink)
By darth on Aug 19, 2012
Putin’s jailing Pussy Riot may be in fact a ruse: he has already indicated it may be reduced to time served and they will soon be free. The last thing he needs to do is attract world outrage, especially considering Russia’s uneasy relationship with Syria’s Assad government. You don’t want to be on the wrong side in too many matters with America still uneasy with the new Russia. As for Assange, be careful considering him a maven of free speech; not everything done in the name of freedom or to protect freedom must be transparent. You have to ask if he would have been irresponsible enough to release news of Bin Laden’s assassination had he known of it. The US would be wise to let other governments take their course in dealing with him.
By Tony on Aug 19, 2012
I love that punk rock can still make the government feel threatened.
By Phil on Aug 19, 2012
none of them have really done anything wrong
By paul on Aug 19, 2012
The people of the US are entitled to know what their constitutional government is doing, by the Freedom of Information Act. The government opted to keep their illegal/immoral doings secret despite the Freedom of Information Act. If Julian Assange managed to make that information public, then I salute him. Millions of Americans are suffering the effects of long-term unemployment that the government (and its corporate owners) downplays and inflation that the government outright denies. Spending a penny persecuting Assange while Americans starve is unconscionable. It’s water under the bridge, anyway. The information is public now. Rather than persecute a truth-teller, maybe the government should clean up its act, instead.
This same US government was critical of the harsh sentence given the band Pussy Riot by Putin’s government, but were unable to mention the name of the band in their condemnation. Repressed much?
By aking on Aug 20, 2012
julian assange is an arch media manipulator too, don’t trust any of them!
By Liam NSW on Aug 20, 2012
possibly one of the best articles on this affair so far, just appeared in the Guardin (UK) Newspaper http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/19/julian-assange-balcony-defence-editorial
By Liam NSW on Aug 20, 2012
Censorship is what’s really on trial here.As long as we continue to let our government censor us, we will continue to lose our rights as citizens. What is Democracy all about anyway? Are we still a Democratic nation? AMERICA, wake up or be imprisoned!
By Tom Billings on Aug 21, 2012
What’s wrong with simply reporting the truth - as it is.
We have become immune to knowingly reading and listening to lies and fabrications which the media bombards us with and when these are exposed we just brush it off. This is because nothing happens to those who spout lies at us. If I stood up in court and lied i’d get taken to task over it. So why is such a powerful thing as the media apparently immune from the law and ethics?
By Daij on Aug 25, 2012
I’ll avoid pussy riot based just on the name alone.It’s punk-it can’t be that good.Anything to be ‘rebellious.’
Yawn.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………….
By matt_the_cat on Aug 25, 2012
Possibly real good news - and from the GOP!
http://dailycaller.com/2012/08/24/exclusive-gop-platform-includes-internet-freedom-language-indicates-influence-of-rand-paul-and-libertarian-republicans/
By 4yrsnojob on Aug 25, 2012
None of it matters as the world will end this December!
By elvislives on Aug 25, 2012
Mr Assange may well be a competent manipulator of the media. In fact, he needed to be, to have pursued his Wikileaks activities.
That does not make him any less deserving of protection from the butt-hurt wrath of a bully-state like the US.
I doubt Assange would be sentenced to death, if he were extradited to the US, but we could expect a very long jail sentence under extremely unpleasant circumstances. (US jailers would undoubtedly go out of their way to make his life hell - far worse than that of jailed rapists and murderers.)
As for the sexual assault charges against Assange, I believe they need to be resolved. It is, surely, possible for the Swedish Government to issue a guarantee that its primary concern is justice for Assange and/or his accusers, and that it would NOT consider any requests to extradite him on other charges, whether or not he is found guilty of ‘rape’.
Sweden has a long history of supporting political dissidents and campaigners for human rights etc. Why should it risk that by kowtowing to a butthurt US administration?
And once again - I’ve been “Tony” on this board for six or more years. I have no idea who the other guy is, but It Weren’t Me, Guvnor!
By Tony on Aug 25, 2012
If it was just sexual assault it would not be in all the world news. The US wants to get their hands on Assange for outing their secrets and this is just one way of doing it.
By Mackster on Aug 29, 2012
Julian Assange did not cause the downfall of the USA or Britain, nor did Pussy Riot cause the downfall of Russia. But if you ***embarrass*** any three of these countries, this is what they’ll bring down on you. Aren’t there worse crimes being committed more deserving of our time, attention and resources?
By Jim Kneubuhl on Aug 29, 2012
Pussy Riot got screwed. As for Assange, he should be taken to court for knowingly sharing stolen information. Notice I said taken to court and let the facts show guilty or not. I do advocate that murdered or stoned in public like some countries do.
By Bubbles on Aug 29, 2012
I can see the point that some feel that Assange’s Wikileaks was simply exposing how a country conducts its foreign policy, but some of that material put lives at risk. As for Manning being in jail w/out trial, he knew being in the military with his level of clearance entitled him to classified info and at the same time excluded from the rights of a “normal” citizen. You acknowledge this when you gain that clearance.
By steve22 on Aug 30, 2012
Sweden hey..the land of Sexual Freedom. pornography etc…what went wrong
HR
By Holy Roller on Aug 30, 2012
Freedom of speech is something that’s always worth fighting for, but I’m not sure what to think about Assange
By frank capra on Sep 5, 2012
“I am grateful to the Ecuadorian people, President Rafael Correa and his government (…) a courageous, independent Latin American nation”.
It´s ironical that Assange´s free speech is being made under the protection of a nation that DON´T allow free press in their territory…
By Belasco on Sep 16, 2012