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Tangent incoming. Your post made me think of Assange for the first time in a while. I do not know if he is a rapist or a Russian agent or whatever but I am uncomfortable with how the mainstream narrative in the West, at least from what it seems to me, has made his story into a story of his sexual assault allegations or his Russian connections or whatever while largely ignoring the simple fact that he made most mainstream journalists look like the establishment drones that they are. The very existence of an Assange in the world, a journalist who actually plays power games and does what it takes to leak info, automatically by contrast exposes the typical journalist as a coward. As for the allegations against him, well if he is a rapist that is really bad and his victims should get justice but at the same time it does not make his work as a journalist any less significant. And if he is a Russian agent I really do not give the slightest shit because I would like for there to be a bunch of Russian agents leaking confidential info about the American establishment and a bunch of American agents leaking confidential info about the Russian establishment. That way I, as someone who wants access to more information about the world's power structures, win all across the board. Actually, given the recent geopolitical tensions between the US and Russia, I am rather surprised that the US has not leaked more information about Putin's theft of public resources or whatever. I would guess that US intelligence agencies have some good information about that. Being usually more of a believer in incompetence as opposed to complex conspiracies being the more significant driver of history, I guess I chalk it up to incompetence for now.
For whatever little it's worth, I'm totally with you. I've gotten in pretty angry arguments about him as the lefties abandoned him once Wikileaks published the DNC/News Media collusion evidence.
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I don't think that it comes down to a conspiracy or incompetence but more of a MAD situation. If the west released all their information on how evil Putin is, he can then just release all the information that his agents acquired over the years. I personally think that a release like that would cause such massive problems for western governments that there's essentially a gentleman's agreement not to share that kind of information.
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