Julian Assange challenges Julia Gillard over 'treason'

[mellie]

JULIA Gillard has been ambushed by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and confronted over her decision to break her pre-election promise not to impose a carbon tax.

Appearing on the ABC's Q&A program last night, the Prime Minister conceded she had walked away from her promise on the carbon tax but had always been committed to an emissions trading scheme.

After the election, she had faced a "stark choice" on whether to act or not on climate change after failing to win a majority and had decided to act. "I didn't intend to mislead people," she said.

"I always believed an emissions trading scheme is right for the country. I believe it now."

But in an appearance covering the government's poor standing in the polls, Kevin Rudd and Australia's relationship with the US, Ms Gillard was confronted by Mr Assange, who is on bail in Britain pending extradition to Sweden.

In a videotaped question, Mr Assange asked the Prime Minister whether the government was exchanging intelligence on Australian citizens with foreign governments and whether the Australian people should consider charging her with treason.

"On the exchange of information, I honestly don't know what he is talking about so I can't help him with full and frank disclosures about exchanging information about people who work for WikiLeaks because to my knowledge, it hasn't happened," Ms Gillard said.

However, the Prime Minister said the Australian government did exchange intelligence with foreign governments on criminal matters but did not allow the extradition of Australian citizens to jurisdictions that allowed the death penalty.

Earlier, Ms Gillard had criticised WikiLeaks as "anarchic".

She said she respected whistleblowers and that Deep Throat, who provided information on the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s, had done the right thing.

The Prime Minister was challenged on the warmth of her speech to the US congress last week but said a "bold" US was in the world's interests.

"We don't want a hesitant America," she said.

Asked why she had become emotional towards the end of the speech, she said she was reacting to the "emotion and warmth" she had been shown. "I was reflecting on the nature of the occasion," she said.

Ms Gillard also distanced herself from suggestions that Mr Rudd was "out of control" and defended the Foreign Minister's high profile. She said her staff had not been responsible for labelling him out of control for his repeated advocacy for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya.

Asking about the Japanese earthquake disaster and the nuclear crisis, she said Labor's position against the establishment of a nuclear power industry in Australia would remain.

"We don't need nuclear energy," Ms Gillard said.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nationa ... 6021427319

http://videoteka.novatv.hr/multimedia/w ... galno.html


But then....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqaRK_STjdw

[Viking King.]

As gay as this fellow may appear, all he has done is exposed to the public what the gov't have been hiding,
and it's not just this gov't, no no no, can't only blame this gov't for hiding stuff, it is all gov't and dictators across the globe, so it is not a new thing.
Pat on the back to him.

[Ned Kelly]

Assange has lost brownie points in my view. Even if Gillard has given the US information (whatever that is) about Wiki employees and associates, how does that amount to treason? His call that she should be charged with treason has taken it way too far. As far as I can recall, treason is an offence against a State/Official of the State, and cannot be committed against a person or private organisation. I just grabbed the definition, and here it is:

Australia

Section 80.1 of the Criminal Code, contained in the schedule of the Criminal Code Act 1995, defines treason as follows:

"A person commits an offence, called treason, if the person:

(a) causes the death of the Sovereign, the heir apparent of the Sovereign, the consort of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
(b) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister resulting in the death of the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
(c) causes harm to the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister, or imprisons or restrains the Sovereign, the Governor-General or the Prime Minister; or
(d) levies war, or does any act preparatory to levying war, against the Commonwealth; or
(e) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist, an enemy:

(i) at war with the Commonwealth, whether or not the existence of a state of war has been declared; and
(ii) specified by Proclamation made for the purpose of this paragraph to be an enemy at war with the Commonwealth; or

(f) engages in conduct that assists by any means whatever, with intent to assist:

(i) another country; or
(ii) an organisation;

that is engaged in armed hostilities against the Australian Defence Force; or
(g) instigates a person who is not an Australian citizen to make an armed invasion of the Commonwealth or a Territory of the Commonwealth; or
(h) forms an intention to do any act referred to in a preceding paragraph and manifests that intention by an overt act."

A person is not guilty of treason under paragraphs (e), (f) or (h) if their assistance or intended assistance is purely humanitarian in nature.

Assange has gone too far with this accusation/suggestion, and he loses credibility by making it.

[IQS.RLOW]

Assange has gone too far with this accusation/suggestion, and he loses credibility by making it.

Blame your GayBC. They tracked him down specifically to ambush dullard

[Ned Kelly]

Did they put the words into his mouth as well?

[IQS.RLOW]

You think that the bastion of leftwing idiocy didn't have the question pre-recorded?

You really do like showing your ignorance, don't you

[Ned Kelly]

Did they put the words into his mouth as well?

*bump* for NOIQ.

[IQS.RLOW]

They gave him a voice. A podium.

So, yes. You fuckwit

[Ned Kelly]

They gave him a voice. A podium.

So, yes. You fuckwit

Of course they gave him a Forum, quite deliberately. They gave him direct access to question the PM concerning his own personal beefs, an opportunity you and I will never probably have. That much is bleedingly obvious.

But, they also gave Assange all the room in the World to make a tit of himself, which he duly and pompously did with self righteous arrogant stupidity raising his insane treason allegation. That will cost him dearly, and soon enough. Not even an Opposition Leader, Abbott included, would make such a scandalous allegation concerning the Prime Minister of Australia. Sure, Politics is a dirty game. Assange is in the Game, and he will learn to his personal damnation that you do not throw an allegation of 'treason' at a Prime Minister lightly or without repercussion. I am certain he will be called to account.

[IQS.RLOW]

She should be charged with treason although maybe not for the reasons ascribed by Assange