Ellsberg: "EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange

[Kalyke]

was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time."

Tweet from Daniel Ellsberg: http://twitter.com/#!/DanielEllsberg

Wow... hadn't thought of that, but...they did try to say Ellsberg was every degenerative thing under the sun to discredit him.

[pnwmom]

1. That's funny. I don't remember Ellsburg being accused of rape. n/t

[Hissyspit]

2. Fielding Break-in:

They were going to smear him with his psychiatric records. An attack on his character. Clearly, what Ellsberg meant.

Why does Interpol care about relatively minor sexual assualt charges?

[Kalyke]

4. He wasn't - but he was accused of an assortment

of other things to discredit him.

From WikiPEDIA (not leaks): "Due to the gross governmental misconduct and illegal evidence gathering, and the defense by Leonard Boudin and Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson, Judge Byrne dismissed all charges against Ellsberg and Russo on May 11, 1973 after the government claimed it had "lost" records of wiretapping against Ellsberg. Byrne ruled: "The totality of the circumstances of this case which I have only briefly sketched offend a sense of justice. The bizarre events have incurably infected the prosecution of this case."<20>"

SNIP

"Ellsberg later claimed that after his trial ended, Watergate prosecutor William H. Merrill informed him of an aborted plot by Liddy and the "plumbers" to have 12 Cuban-Americans who had previously worked for the CIA to "totally incapacitate" Ellsberg as he appeared at a public rally, though it is unclear whether that meant to assassinate Ellsberg or merely to hospitalize him.<24><25> In his autobiography, Liddy describes an "Ellsberg neutralization proposal" originating from Howard Hunt, which involved drugging Ellsberg with LSD, by dissolving it in his soup, at a fund-raising dinner in Washington in order to "have Ellsberg incoherent by the time he was to speak" and thus "make him appear a near burnt-out drug case" and "discredit him". The plot involved waiters from the Miami Cuban community. According to Liddy, when the plan was finally approved, "there was no longer enough lead time to get the Cuban waiters up from their Miami hotels and into place in the Washington Hotel where the dinner was to take place" and the plan was "put into abeyance pending another opportunity".<26>"



The point is that the government is trying several immoral, if not illegal, methods to silence Assange. While the facts aren't all in on his "sex by surprise" charges, the fact is that he hasn't been charged, is being held without bond and without charge, was chased via Interpol for a condom break. Nigeria has charged Dick Cheney with bribery - has that gone out through Interpol?

[pnwmom]

17. The facts aren't in on Assange, though I believe he has been charged.

The Swedish prosecutor was on TV yesterday talking about the charges.

[Matariki]

21. WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange Endangered by Bail Denial in London; Still No Charges Filed in Sweden

From today's Democracy Now

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/8/attorney_for_wikileaks_founder_julian_assange

I'm going to repeat that: Still No Charges Filed in Sweden

[pnwmom]

24. CNN disagrees with you. He has been charged in Sweden.

That's why they're holding him in London.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/12/08/wikileaks.assange.arrest/?hpt=T2

(CNN) -- WikiLeaks editor and founder Julian Assange voluntarily turned himself in Tuesday to authorities in London, after an arrest warrant was issued for him in Sweden on charges of rape, sexual molestation and unlawful coercion.

[Matariki]

26. Between CNN and Democracy Now I know who I'm more likely to believe.

But surely it's not an opinion, but a fact that can easily be researched. Possible Democracy Now's info isn't up to date? Or CNN is just talking without researching?

I'll try to find up to date facts, I'm curious who is correct.

[Matariki]

27. ps - did you happen to read the Democracy Now transcript?

Or watch the video? It's worth it.

[Kalyke]

30. I don't consider CNN a bastion of journalism.

And I'm a former and classically-trained journalist.

[crikkett]

36. "classically-trained" made me chuckle

because it's so different now isn't it?

[Kalyke]

34. Any Brits here? In the U.S., you can only "hold" someone up to 48 hours

without a felony criminal charge.

Is the same true in the U.K.?

[cherokeeprogressive]

3. Might Ellsberg be jealous?

Kinda sounds like he's on the outside looking in, wishing his release of the Pentagon Papers had happened in this time of the 24/7 news cycle.

[sudopod]

5. no :/ nt

[Kalyke]

6. I doubt that.

He's been active for years as a lecturer, writer and activist on the dangers of the nuclear era, wrongful U.S. interventions and the urgent need for patriotic whistleblowing.

[eShirl]

7. I can always count on someone at DU to cast asperagus.

[postulater]

35. You should learn how to spell.

It's spelled cassed. Like in 'cassed the first stone'.

[JackRiddler]

8. Staggering ignorance.

The release of the Pentagon Papers was the biggest story in the papers and on all of the news programs every night for two weeks and prompted the Nixon White House to recruit its "plumbers," thus indirectly setting off the chain of events that led to the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation. It played a key role in putting an end to the US invasion and occupation of Vietnam.

So no, Ellsberg didn't lack for attention at the time, which included the threat that he would be imprisoned for life.

As though attention was his motivation! Some people can't imagine anything else, I suppose.

[cherokeeprogressive]

9. I watched the Watergate hearings. I still think he's a little jealous though.

Assange has been in the headlines for months, and is engineering his longterm stay there by dribbling information and making threats.

I'm no fan of Assange, but what Ellsberg did quite possibly saved the lives of two of my uncles. I respect Ellsberg. I just think he's a little jealous is all, but you keep calling me names. I gots me some thick skin...

[EFerrari]

10. No, he's a supporter of Wikileaks

and he gets more work than he can handle. What is he now, in his 70s?

[cherokeeprogressive]

11. 80 next April. I know he supports Wikileaks.

This place really is humorless lately...

[EFerrari]

12. Sorry!

I've got an excedrin headache from trying to figure out facebook and twitter at the same time.

:hi:

[JackRiddler]

13. But you still want to confuse people about that, apparently.

[Alameda]

14. You are right....this place does lack a sense of humor...and

it would be natural for him to have a twinge of something...after all he was the most famous leaker up to now. He has been calling for others to do what he did, still when it happens I'm sure there is a twinge.

[Kalyke]

15. Unfortunately, I'm guessing he'll still be the only leaker to lead

to the stepping down/nearly criminal charging of a president.

For all WikiLeaks' leaks, the only person being considered for criminal charges is Julian Assange.

[Alameda]

18. Yes, it's unfortunate, but true.

[Alameda]

29. well that's the way it is for now, but we can hope.

[Better Believe It]

19. Don't cast asparagus against Daniel Ellsberg!

[vanlassie]

33. Oh please.

[KurtNYC]

16. S.O.P. -- Kill the messenger

and these days they do it with character assassination.

[Uncle Joe]

20. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Kalyke.

[TexasObserver]

22. He's right. Many journalists were recruited - as now - to express their shock!

Oh, the wailing was nonstop.

As for the coverage, it was all over the news and it was covered more substantively than the Wikileaks matter. Everyone was reading the Pentagon Papers. It was a time when people actually read things, and had long, detailed discussions about them.

[Kalyke]

32. Honored, TO.

You and I rarely agree. Nice to see you both commenting on and agreeing with a post of mine.

:hi:

[kgnu_fan]

23. Ellsberg and Assange, Hero of out time

[tcaudilllg]

31. 100%

[Kaleko]

25. Big fat K&R

[FamousBlueRaincoat]

28. What Ellsberg doesn't realize is

That this is completely different than what he did. How dare he claim to have a better understanding of his actions than others? :sarcasm:

"All leaks are equal, but some leaks are more equal than others"