Nothing to really say about the Julian Assange rape allegations. Either his accusers speak the truth, making him guilty; or the U.S. diplomatic and intelligence communities have concocted this mess, making him innocent. It is even possible for both to be true, as disgusting as that sounds all around. (It would make the basis for a good le Carré novel, now that I think of it.) Hopefully Assange receives due process, gets a fair hearing, and a just verdict.
But it’s a sideshow. The status of Assange’s guilt is irrelevant to the importance of the information that Wikileaks has released about secret detention, covert wars, diplomatic espionage, and the covering up of war crimes. As citizens, we can do something with that information. We can hold our governments accountable.
If we gave a shit.
Juan Cole continues to separate the wheat from the chaff. Amanda Marcotte has two great posts on the knee-jerk sexism and appealing for more complex thinking about this case. (Can’t seem to get a working link to that last one allasudden. Will try later.) Also Kate Harding’s piece does a great job of tackling the poor quality of source material used by Assange’s defenders: “What a fantastic show of research, critical thinking and, as always, respect for women.”