Julian Assange Runs For Office In Australia 192
mpawlo writes "Mr Julian Assange of Wikileaks fame, has, according to The Age, confirmed his intention to run for the Australian Senate in 2013. He will also form a Wikileaks political party. From the article: 'Mr Assange said plans to register an Australian WikiLeaks party were ''significantly advanced''. He indicated he would be a Senate candidate, and added that "a number of very worthy people admired by the Australian public" have indicated their availability to stand for election on a party ticket. Mr Assange said he is able to fulfill the requirements to register as an overseas elector in either New South Wales or Victoria and that he will shortly take a "strategic decision" about which state he would be a Senate candidate for.'"
mr assange (Score:0, Insightful)
isn't he still holed up in an embassy in London?
Has anyone warned the interns? (Score:4, Insightful)
à la guerre comme à la guerre (Score:4, Insightful)
Sorry if you don't like the reality. Reality has the interesting property to exist regardless of whether we like it, or even whether we believe in it. The reality is that the political world is not, and cannot be, a single entity ruled by mutual trust and eternal love. The political world is divided into hostile blocks. Even if our block falls down (due to, among other reasons, too much assangeness), the blocks will not disappear, they will reshape. China has enough vitality as far as I can tell. Surely the chikoms would not mind all US secrets being published openly. Surely they can fill in the geopolitical void left by the US (hypothetically speaking).
Of course, there is a flip side to that. The government secret agencies tend to do nasty things behind the veil of secrecy and in that sense it is a good thing to have civil control over them. However, that does not alter one bit the fact that it is impossible to be a successful geopolitical player that reveals **all** her secrets.
J. Assange took an active part in a war. He may not realise that but he did. Now he whines that the party he damaged is trying to destroy him :) Welcome to the real world, idiot! Every major player will do the same. Try hurting Russia or China or Turkey or Israel and see what happens. The sissies from the Western shelter have become accustomed to the idea you can hurt the state with impunity. Well, that's only possible in a small part of the world. Only inside the shelter that protects from the brutal reality. And is possible only to a certain degree. If too much assangeness happens, either the state will find means of protecting itself from the cancer, or will be overrun by a hostile party that allows no assangeness :)
Re:I like it! (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder if that's what he's afraid of.
He's probably afraid of the curiously broad Swedish definition of "rape".
Re:I like it! (Score:3, Insightful)
Okay, correct me if I am wrong here, but from what I understand Assange doesn't want to enter Sweden because the next step, regardless of the outcome in Sweden, is extradition to the US.
So, yes, he is fleeing the US courts and I don't blame him.
Re:Gillard already disowned him (Score:4, Insightful)
The short version then.
Australian politics is currently divided between ALP (Labour party) and The Coalition (Liberals, Democrats) with a third party, the Greens, in the middle. Scatter in some independents and other minor parties.
The next election is going to be a decision between ALP / Gillard, who is seen by many to be a back stabbing liar (google it if you are interested - especially on the Carbon Tax and deposing of Kevin Rudd) and Liberals (coalition) / Tony Abbot who tends to rub people the wrong way. The Greens put their foot in it when they refused to take action on the boat people problem and are now in bad odour.
So, yes, there is opportunity here. Gillard has publicly embarrassed herself in regards to Wikileaks and Assange and Abbot or the Greens could well score some political points out of this.
While it is true that "Enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, no more, no less" Gillards opponents could well use the situation with Assange to make yet another dent in Gillard's credibility - something she is running out of.
Unless something changes, the Libs, and perhaps the greens, are going to tear Gillard to ribbons for all of the things done and not done in the last term, starting with te backstab of Rudd. Every stone in the arsenal helps.