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With the arrest of Julian Assange in London, the WikiLeaks story takes on a European, rather than American, tinge.
In some senses this was always a European story in that - taken at face value - Assange's crusade is about the rule of international law, and bi-rather-than-unilaterism. These could be said to be very European values, or at least European values of the late 20th century.
As almost everyone following the story can now recite, Assange's focus was the unchecked use of American hard power, and his weapon was information.
Forgive the double entendres. As I write, Mr Assange is in a London jail, having been denied bail in an extradition case whereby his fate appears to be removed to Sweden to answer allegations of sexual assault.
It's been called a rape case, though Mr Assange hasn't been charged with rape.
The details and timeline of the case and allegations are summarised here in a very useful and sober Reuters article .
At issue is the use of condoms (i.e. a failure to do so, and actual condom failure), and Assange's unavailability subsequent to those events being perceived as unwillingness to assuage a young woman's fear of STDs.
Assange had switched his phone off for fear of having it tracked by authorities. Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not out to get you. But paranoid behaviour can induce paranoia in others.
The risk of poor taste does not prevent me from suggesting that Mr Assange follow Charlie Sheen's m/o.
Following Mr Sheen's disastrous night with a porn actress here in New York recently, he made several attempts to get in touch with her. These were subsequently leaked, and filled the monologues of late night chat show hosts. Yet it seems only polite: If the night you planned didn't turn out to be the night you planned, then call a girl back.
I have a pal in Sweden who believes that the women involved are unreliable witnesses, and that the charges are politically motivated beat-ups. He believes that the coverage of the case in the Antipodes is soured by a conspiracy (likely US-generated) to present Assange in the worst light possible.
Having lived in the US for just over nine years, and having been a journalist for perhaps double that, I find the conspiracy theories about both hacks, and the US, difficult to substantiate. The US - a military superpower - could barely organise two wars in two comparatively backward smaller nations. As for the media, it's too fractured, and too pressed by deadlines to cook up even a modest conspiracy.
You could make some argument for the uniformity of self-censorship (scribblers who want US visas), but I doubt that words have been whispered in receptive and fearful ears in newsrooms. Perhaps the nature of the coverage is cultural. Aussies are the Americans of the South Pacific.
Ironies about the uses and abuses of privacy abound in the WikiLeaks saga. With the publication of the diplomatic cables, Julian Assange seems to be suggesting that where geopolitical affairs are involved, the personal is political. By his inability to deal directly with the women involved in the case against him, he has proved that it can be thus in carnal relationships as well.
Read more Tim Wilson opinion .
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