Wow! I hope we will also follow this case. It is instructive to see how squalid Swedish “justice” seems to be. I can’t say I knew much about Sweden really but vaguely thought that it was some lefty haven compared to the UK. Please posters let us check the details of this case as they emerge, both for its own sake and our expanding knowledge of the Assange farrago.

BTW, yesterday I read the Swedish lawyer’s (linked from Craig’s Assange blog) assessment of the Assange case legitimacy. I recommend reading it.

Here’s the link again:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/48396086/Assange-Case-Opinion-Sven-Erik-Alhem

(BTW mods, can I use html tags or will the above automatically be a hotlink? thanks)

regards

Julian

Sorry Mods, I see my question was irrelevant, the answer is yes! ;_)

Hi Craig,

I haven’t been following the most closely, but these links seem to suggest that they are not (officially) related in any way to WikiLeaks.

http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrest-related-to-tax-hack-not-piracy-120906/
http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-co-founder-lands-in-sweden-immediately-charged-by-police-120911/ — see the Update toward the bottom.

That said, I can’t imagine it was the copyright lobby behind it. As reasons, I’ll cite common sense and this link: http://torrentfreak.com/pirate-bay-founder-arrest-followed-by-59m-swedish-aid-package-for-cambodia-120905/

I would be extremely surprised to find out the behind-the-scenes motivation wasn’t related to his involvement with the Pirate Party / WikiLeaks / PRQ crowd.

Phil posted this on the Irmeli Krans thread
Phil
8 Sep, 2012 – 4:38 pm
Sweden is seeking the extradition of the Pirate Bay founder on a hacking charge rather than any copyright infringement laws.

It is tempting to see a parallel here with Assange – in that Sweden is pursuing those the US government wants stopped, on charges not directly related to the real issue.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/09/pirate-bay-founder-arrest/

and I am sure I mentioned it earlier here too but cannot find the post now.

Put another way,perhaps,Sweden was paid $64,365,000 to pay Cambodia 50 Million Euros?

This makes one wonder how deeply rooted the tentacles of the evil empire are in other countries such as Sweden, which might be considered to be “Liberal Democracies” by the general populace.

For a minute there Craig I thought you had concluded that €50,000000
Would detract from nurture and be assisting in global.warming and be detrenental to nature.

Maybe I am not an optimist but I believe that money will buy air con units and gas guzzling parties

Not land agriculture, and feeding tje forrests.

Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb deciding on what to have for dinner.

Democracy is a Greek tradgedy please cant we just be realists

It is no coincidence that he was arrested on the same day US trade ambassador Ron Kirk visited Cambodia. Svartholm’s address was known for some time and no action taken before.

While the RIAA and MPAA have been buying new laws through President Obama and having him force these laws on other countries, along with helping extradite ‘website owners’, this case is obviously not about The Pirate bay website.

The large sums of money involved can only be about something bigger.

The excuse for the original arrest was that Svartholm’s visa had expired. The normal process is to deport you to a country of your choice. He was denied this choice. He was also denied legal representation and the Swedish Embassy offered no help nor would tell his family or legal help where he was located as he kept being moved to non-immigration related buildings.

So Sweden lied about no further charges, paid Cambodia a hefty sum, denied legal representation, made sure usual deportation rules were ignored, sent some Government employees to escort him back home and then charged him with additional crimes.

The whole thing stinks. After the Assange stuff, Sweden is getting a name as Americas new lapdog.

“BTW, yesterday I read the Swedish lawyer’s (linked from Craig’s Assange blog) assessment of the Assange case legitimacy. I recommend reading it. Here’s the link again: http://www.scribd.com/doc/48396086/Assange-Case-Opinion-Sven-Erik-Alhem ”

Why not read what he said under cross-examination as well, the court hearing was 18 months ago.

“On the account given by Ms Ny it would have been a reasonable reaction to apply for an EAW. “Certainly, I would have done the same myself”.”

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Misc/2011/5.html

Craig,

Great that you have taken this up. I was concerned that the matter would fade away. We cant expect much from the swedish media. A lot of back slapping at present on the release of the 2 Swedish journalists held in Ethiopia. Happy for the journalists involved but once again refects on the hypocrisy displayed by the media and establishment against Assange. There is speculation that the US geven their good relations with the Ethiopian regime assisted Sweden with Assange as payback. Sounds very realistic.

We should not confuse our energies for justice for oppressed peoples and whistle-blowers with justice for dodgy commercial operators such as Pirate Bay. They make themselves rich, very rich by not paying musicians and composers. They are no freedom fighter Robin Hoods.

The semantics associated with Democracy the Western Brand is “mob role”. As any discerning observer would note the insistence of all the participants to remain on the “same page”, “sing from same hymn sheet”, “talk with a united voice”, etc. simply put it is a kind of mob role that does not tolerate any kind of dissent, or deviations from the laws set (normally by the plutocrats for the benefit of the plutocrats).

Therefore it is an elegant consequence of the said mob role that the chap is extradited from Cambodia under the false promises and pretences only for him to be stuffed upon arrival in the “Freedom” lands!

Sweden indeed is a dark little kingdom in more than one sense of the word.

TonyF12
Just how much do these said “artists want to get paid?” and how many times do they intend to get paid for the same work over and over again?

Don’t come the poor little artists, it does not wash and ought not to wash, I don’t pay a royalty fee to the Pizza parlour I get my Pizza from, because he was the first guy in the town to put anchovies on his Pizza.

The whole racket is a scam, ever seen a poor artist? They get the women, the parties, the fame, and they want money for it too? I would be happy just to get the first lot and me supper and sing my tits off mate!

Jay:
The idea of democracy is perhaps not so bad; it is the fact that it has been hijacked by the rich and powerful and made totally dependent on oodles of money to even think about contesting an election, is the real problem. What never ceases to amaze me is that the political parties openly state their most important goal: to gain power. Policies are totally subjugated to the primary aim.

Craig, Peter Sunde https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Sunde

Passerby, you need to do some research into what makes a functioning modern democracy. It is not, as you impute, mob rule; as well as government by majority-elected representatives, there is also the matter of social justice safeguards in law and custom and popular institutions, and critical oversight by the press and media. Now, this is the ideal, which stands in marked contrast to the way things are being run today in the UK and the US. Do not confuse the current bowdlerised versions of democracy with the real thing.

O/T Dominic Grieve is going to seriously consider asking the High Court to order another inquest into the deaths at Hillsborough. It will take time we hear. As much time as it took to say that there would be NO inquest into Dr Kelly’s death? As you might know the High Court turned down an application by Mr Halpin for a judicial review of that decision. That fight for justice continues.

Joshua Rosenberg (Melanie Phillips’ husband) thinks it would be a good idea if another Hillborough inquest was held.

It’s hard to see what law you could charge someone for hosting Wikileaks. I don’t suppose internal government documents are copyrighted?

Wired are suggesting he was arrested for hacking the Swedish tax authority.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/09/pirate-bay-airport-arrest/

You’ve hit the nail on the head with “The Svartholm case and the dodgy “aid” payment has been very little covered by the mainstream media, because it reveals the extraordinary lengths to which the Swedish authorities are prepared to go, to please the US in bringing down those involved with Wikileaks, and to dissociate themeselves from Sweden’s brief period as the home of internet freedom.”

Why complicate things? This is no dodgy conspiracy. No aid money was necessary to achive this – that aid had been negotiated long ago. This is a simple immigration matter in Cambodia, and Sweden are obviously interested in bringing him home. Some mild diplomatic pressure may have been involved I suppose but since the matter is so straightforward there is no need to pay tens of millions of dollars to get him home.

For Sweden this is a matter of bringing Svartholm home to serve his sentence and potentially face charges for a new crime – the possible intrusion in the tax authorities’ computer systems. Whether we like the outcome of his original trial or not, he is in fact sentenced to prison and didn’t show up to serve his sentence when he should. So Sweden want him home. No surprise there.

For Cambodia it is just a matter of deporting someone who has overstayed his visa. Normal procedure.

So, the Swedish gov revoked his passport (normal procedure under the circumstances). Then Svartholm’s visa in Cambodia expired. The Cambodian authorities then picked him up and deported him. Simple as that, no conspiracy theories necessary.

Normally, when you are deported you can go anywhere yo want. No need to go home to your home country. And the Swedish handlers that escorted him don’t have any judicial powers outside of Sweden and can’t force him to travel where they want.

But – since he doesn’t have a valid passport – he didn’t really have any other choice than to follow his handlers to Sweden even if they couldn’t legally force him. No other country (with the possible exception of Ecuador?) would let him enter without passport.

And once he landed in Sweden he could be formally arrested.

So. Mission accomplished. No extradition treaty needed, no secret payoffs needed, no conspiracy needed. Just a deportation and a revoked passport. Simple really.

Don’t overcomplicate things guys.

Mike Cobley,
Thanks for the advice and optimism, however a little point that may have been overlooked;
The semantics associated with Democracy the Western Brand is “mob role”

The kind of bilge that is on tap and on demand that basically promotes three facets of Freedom brand;

a- Freedom of Choice
b- Freedom of expression
c- Freedom of opportunity

Nice sounding pile of bollocks that is shoved down the throats of the punters at large who are verily enjoying their other Freedoms;

Freedom to be homeless
Freedom to go hungry
Freedom to be jerked around when ill (in UK, elsewhere to suffer the pains and agony and finally accept death as a credible alternative to life)
Freedom to be jobless
Freedom to remain penniless and uncertain about the future.

Well I am sure you get the drift, with all these Freedoms the only remaining alternative to anarchy and chaos is “Majority Lead Democracy” brand which in other parts of the world are known as lynch mobs and rule of the mob.

Hence the imperatives of remaining united in government and coalition and opposition and anywhere that really is to project the unity of the mob and their unbending will to crush any-kind of dissent, or deviations from their prescribed behaviour.

PS Clegg is dropping “bigot” from his speech (coz Cammy is not happy about his proposal) on the most diverse policy of gay marriages, which as you know is a pressing matter for nine out of ten households and eleven out of ten pet owners who prefer Freedom Fries in sesame oil for their pets!

Despite Eric’s “nothing to see here, move on” effort, Gotfrid’s friend gives an interesting account of what went on.

It looks very much like the Swedes played very fast and loose with due process and procedure, as we know went on in the Assange case. These female Swedish officials don’t even seem to make any effort to defend their tactics. They just get flustered when questioned. It reminds of the Female Swedish officials in the Assange case. It’s like they know what’s going on is wrong but they don’t front up the way a male official would do. They attempt a version of it, but it ain’t convincing. They don’t back down however. I suspect it might be easier to emmbarrass a male and make more progress.

I’d love to know is there any work in this area, particularly with regard to Sweden. It’s all very Milgramish.

https://torrentfreak.com/sweden-kidnapped-my-friend-pirate-bay-co-founder-anakata-120810/

He was arrested for another crime that is much more serious than his copyright crimes with TPB, and this has nothing to do with wikileaks.

Yes, the ‘aid’ may have accelerated the deportation, but Sweden gives a lot of money to Cambodia every year, so it’s nothing new.

Sorry to spoil the conspiracy theories

This is extremely sickening. Corrupt governments who are still able to convince people like Eric, who doesn´t even know that Gottfried was legally in Cambodia. I just read his friend in that link “sweden kidnapped my friend” and it´s disgusting.
What is ahead of this whole shit? We ought to stop them!

Vague Hague – I have read the article you link. Nothing in there makes my version less plausible. I don’t see any reason why it should be more complicated than a revoked passport and an overstayed visa.

One thing that Niklas doesn’t address in his article is that Svartholm’s passport very likely is revoked (We know Fredrik Neij’s passport is revoked, that’s public knowledge since he has contested the decision and wants his passport reinstated.)

Niklas is upset because Svartholm has not been informed that he can go anywhere when he is deported. Truth is, without passport he can’t. The only country that will accept him is Sweden.

So in summary: If the Swedish government can achieve their goal of bringing Svartholm home through simple, uncontroversial, legal methods – why would they resort to dodgy payments and underhand deals? When it is not neccessary? I just don’t see any reason why they would when they don’t have to.

For the record, I would have preferred another outcome in the silly TPB trial and I believe that immaterial rights laws are outdated in this day and age. But in this matter – to bring Svartholm home – there has been absolutely no need for underhand methods when the tools legally available to the authorities work so well.

And for readers and commentators here: Why look for conspiracies and controversy where they are not required by government to get what they want?

Clark, you´re saying that Eric´s opinion, just an unkown commenter, has the same weight of Craig´s, an ex-British diplomat with strong knowledge of all the inside work? Give me a break. Eric is too busy watching TV, leave him alone.

Clark – I have no insight at all in Swedish-Cambodian negotiations. All I have is an assertion in the media from Swedish authorities that the deal was negotiated long ago. It’s possible they lie, but why should they when the case is so easy and straightforward?

When it is so easy to achieve the desired outcome through simple legal means (revoked passport, deportation after expired visa) I think it is reasonable to assume that authorities would prefer to take the easy, transparent way out rather than underhand dodgy deals.

And I don’t think Cambodia would have any problem deporting a convicted criminal without passport who has overstayed his visa if prompted to do so by a friendly country (Sweden). And I don’t see any reason why tens of millions of dollars would be required to get that wish granted.

Why disregard the simple solution and look for something more murky and dodgy at every opportunity? I just don’t see the motivation for getting involved in underhand deals when it is simply not necessary.

Eric

The major issue in Gottfrid’s friend’s account is the Swedish official not informing Gottfrid of his right to challenge his deportation and indeed her very obvious efforts to circumvent his rights in this regard – precisely the same sort of tactics we’ve seen in the Assange case.

What say you to that?

Yes Mauricio, always look for the dodgy conspiracy, not the simple solution.

What exactly in my version of events is it that you see as improbable? Why would a government resort to dodgy deals when they simply don’t have to? The legal tools are powerful enough.

I wonder who has been watching too much TV?

Vague Hague – I don’t know what rights he was or wasn’t informed about. I wasn’t there. It is possible that the Swedish embassy has a case to answer there, that they haven’t informed Svartholm of his rights in the appropriate way. I’m not sure what their obligations are in that respect. I imagine that are not enthusiatic to provide any more help than the absolute minimum of their obligations though, since they were keen to bring him back to Sweden.

But that’s not the point of my intervention here. I am just trying to point out that it was a simple operation to get Svartholm back. There is simply no conspiracy needed. Transparent, legal methods were sufficient. And the information Svartholm did – or didn’t – get at the point of his apprehension probably wouldn’t have made any difference. I can’t see how he could contest a deportation under the circumstances (no passport, expired visa, convicted and wanted in another country)

Guys – I’m not here as a defender of the authorities. What I am saying here that I don’t see the conspiracy that everyone else seems to be seeing. What I am seeing is a straightforward case of deportation, and with a revoked passport Svartholm is left with very little choice. Sweden is that only destination for him. And no pay-offs would be required to achieve this.

I can’t understand why this explanation of simple procedures would cause a storm here?

Eric

Fair enough. You concede that Gottfrid’s rights may not have been well attended by the Swedish consular official.

I would contend that such a cavalier approach to due process indicates that all is not well in Sweden. We’ve seen similar failings in the Swedish judicial system re: the Assange case.

Craig

Can you please read the account of Gottfrid’s friend and give us the benefit of your experience here, particularly wrt the consular episodes and Gottfrid’s whereabouts at the time etc:

https://torrentfreak.com/sweden-kidnapped-my-friend-pirate-bay-co-founder-anakata-120810/

Vague Hague, that’s a very absorbing account of how the United States uses its cheque book to buy off countries like Cambodia for the exchange of people with a political conscience. This is not a pretty world we live in.

Friends, have we not let “Eric” sidetrack us here? We all seem to be focussing on whether or not the Swedes followed proper procedure and whether or not it was necessary to pay the Cambodians money to sweeten the deal…whereas the real point Craig is tring to make – and it’s a very important one – is that the Swedish authorite apparentl have no difficulty in giving people they’re after assurances and then breaking their word once the guy’s back in Sweden.

Link to Assange case?

Ok, I made my point. But for deaf ears it seems. More fun with conspiracy than logic I guess?

I still don’t understand why everyoone here seems to think that the authorities would prefer to resort to dodgy deals (just for the fun of it then, or why?) when legal means and correct procedure are more than sufficient to bring Svartholm home.

Revoked passport + expired visa = easy transport to Sweden. No money needed.

But each to their own I guess. Enjoy your world. Don’t forget your tin foil hats…

Yes thank you Eric, you have indeed made your point – and, as Maurice says succeeded in side-tracking the discussion. So a period of silence on your part would now be welcome. Thank you.

Eric, I think you have got extradition and deportation confused.

Cambodia and Sweden have no extradition treaty which means Cambodia had no obligation to extradite him. Countries with no extradition agreements usually deny such requests even if there are outstanding charges or convictions on a person. People trying to get across the mexican border comes to mind although I am sure that example will come back to haunt me!

Cambodia can however deport someone for an invalid/expired visa but the person being deported has the choice of where they are deported too, passport or not. This option was denied in this case. Even if the country they go to will not let them out of the airport, the next step gets worked out at that point. Be it a request of asylum or whatever. This is how I understand it to be anyway.

Also when someone gets arrested abroad, the embassy of their country gets involved to advise them of their rights and to make sure they get legal representation. This didn’t happen here and the Swedish embassy went out of their way to make sure that legal aid and family could not get any contact with him. Even murderers are extended this privilege usually.

Its not as if Sweden hasn’t got form for underhand extradition attempts if you have followed the ENTIRE Assange case. This along with the aid package and the US Representative visit are nails in the coffin which was already locked shut. This case was dodgy enough without these.

Eric

“Revoked passport + expired visa = easy transport to Sweden. No money needed”.

Not quite. You haven’t explained the Swedish and Cambodian collusion in ensuring Gottfrid wasn’t able to contest his deportation in a Cambodian court.

It’s all there in the document I posted.

Nice try, but I’m afraid you’ve fallen for far too simplistic an account of what’s gone on here.

“The money is …targeted on…..global warming. – Like the CO2 “pollutant” taxes that your governments are so keen to make you pay, (while of course preventing developing nations to have the utilization of natural resources advantage the right and powerful ones did) not one Krona will combat the natural fluctuations of our amazingly complex global weather system with or without mankinds finger prodding perturbations. And all the while REAL pollution (nuclear, pharmaceutical, chemical) gets worse every day.
.
Methinks allocations of monies for ‘climate change’ is a fancy label for a bung.
.
Your post shows how duplicitous Sweden is and that it’s famed liberal socialism and exemplary civic life is the same old PR trick well known in the ‘West’

It sounds too familiar Craig

Not much point in chasing the troll here: the Swedish government’s payment was clearly unconnected with its regular aid disbursements. The fact that the money was earmarked for “democracy promotion” or some such nonsense is an indication that it was destined for private bank accounts, probably in Switzerland.

“The idea of democracy is perhaps not so bad; it is the fact that it has been hijacked by the rich and powerful and made totally dependent on oodles of money to even think about contesting an election, is the real problem…”

The Ancient Greeks ran into this problem in Athens. Their solution was to distribute offices on the basis of lotteries. All citizens were liable to be called upon to discharge their democratic duties. A bit like the jury system.

It is hard to believe that Parliaments so chosen would not contain the small percentage of honest and socially minded people needed to bring some decency to public policy debates.

So far as our image of Sweden is concerned, it is helpful to remember that two extremely high profile assassinations, changing the balance of power within Swedish Social Democracy, have taken place in, historically, recent years.

Those dirty filthy fascist Swedes are at it again!!

“EU Parliament votes for an end to impunity on CIA rendition. Poles are prosecuting, but Sweden refuses”

Just how much American ass can these Swedes swallow!

https://twitter.com/wikileaks

WSJ on Svartholm: fresh allegations…
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443884104577645153822983344.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

(the updated story is not accessible on the WSJ site itself atm)

People who liked this also bought:
http://news.hitb.org/content/anonymous-doxes-cambodian-gov-latest-attack

And for those who missed the back story (with links, would download latest AV signatures first)
http://www.dailydot.com/news/anonymous-optpb-cambodia-sweden-pirate-bay/

It’s a complete can of worms. I imagine the Swedes aren’t very popular right now in Cambodia. Or India. Or Nepal. Or Ukraine. Or Kyrgyzstan. Or…
http://ki-media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/released-documents-by-anonymous-could.html

You were missed Komodo. I asked on the previous where was Werritty and where were you!

In connection with this question at PMQs.

Q6.[120390]

Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab):

The Adam Werritty affair should have taught Ministers important lessons about becoming too close to their outside advisers. Now it appears that the Prime Minister’s climate change Minister, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker), may be making similar mistakes. Given media reports today, does the Prime Minister have the same complete confidence in his climate change Minister as he had in his former Defence Secretary?

The Prime Minister:
The climate change Minister is doing an excellent job; I want to put that on the record. I have consulted with the Cabinet Secretary, and both he and the permanent secretary at the Department of Energy and Climate Change have examined the issue, and I do not see the need for a further inquiry on that basis. The key point I would make is that the individual in question was hired by civil servants after a properly run competition.

~~~
The minister concerned is Greg Barker and the adviser Ms Myriam Maes
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/sep/12/greg-barker-miriam-maes-emails?newsfeed=true

.

Sorry, Mary, had urgent business with a dead animal.
May I present for your entertainment (o/t) – The Gentleman’s Guide to Forum Spies ?

http://par-anoia.net/forum-spies.html

The breed doesn’t seem to have died out yet.

deadership was a typo – probably my grandfather coming through from the somme

so i can only correct it by posting a link to the best essay, I have ever read on the subject

“It’s Something Else Entirely”

“The Difference Between Leadership and Domination”

http://thinkorbeeaten.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/its-something-else-entirely.html

Extract

“It is commonplace to refer to our dearly elected as leaders. But are they leaders? Who or what do they lead? Using the word in the strict sense of going first while everyone else follows, our elected officialdom consistently takes the country in the wrong direction; away from where the people who live and work here, by vast majority, want to go.

That is not leadership. It is something else entirely.

I think it’s important to define leadership and understand its purpose. I have some strong ideas on leadership and what a leader is. I offer them to you for your perusal and consideration. If you find that you agree with my take on what a leader is and what they are supposed to do, then you can decide for yourself what our dearly elected in Washington D.C. are actually up to. You may come to the same conclusion that I have, that they are not by any stretch “leaders”.

There is an easily discerned line between leaders and tyrants. It would do us well to know the difference.

The main role of leadership is to help people get where they want to go. Leadership is specifically about individuals. It challenges individuals to think in new ways and to try to achieve things they don’t believe they can achieve. Leadership is coaching. It is guidance. It is experience and wisdom. Leadership is never about the leaders because the end goal of good leaders is to become useless; to no longer be needed by others in order to achieve their goals. Leaders empower others.

The main goal of dominators/controllers is to get people to go where they themselves want to go and do what they themselves want done. Nothing is done for the benefit of the individuals they control, in fact those being controlled give much more than they receive in return. Domination and control is all about the dominators and controllers. Individuals become irrelevant when they are controlled or dominated. Domination is undemocratic. There is rigidity in thought and action and a tendency to focus on the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law. Domination and control is about hierarchy and illegitimate power over others. Dominators use others for their own ends. Dominators and controllers jobs are never done because people will always need to be controlled or they’ll be something other than what the dominators want them to be. Dominators disempower others.

Leaders don’t tell people what to do, or what to think. Leaders are not controllers, dominators or enforcers. We have different words for all those things because they are not the same things, they are different. Leadership may at times encompass certain elements of these other things but it will never be fully comprised of them, else leaders cease being leaders and become controllers, dominators or enforcers. If that happens it should be clear that leadership has nothing to do with it, and it becomes something else entirely.

Leaders are first and foremost guides. Facilitators. Enablers who help others get where they want to go. Leadership is about management, but management that is intensely people focused and very personal. Leadership is specifically about people; it is guiding people out of their own way to help them realize themselves. When it’s done right, individuals are empowered and armed to go forth and use the best of themselves to full capacity. When it’s done wrong, individuals are controlled and dominated down to being what their “leaders” demand, usually at the cost of individuality and critical thinking, as well as personal dignity, creativity, power, and choice.”

Read the rest of Angie’s words on her link I posted above. I have no idea what she looks like, but she has a soul of an angel. She lives in California, last I heard. I am in awe of her. She just dumps her entire soul using an amazingly large number of words, but only a few times a year.

If you can only handle a text message, you probably won’t get that she writes almost an entire book in one post on her blog, which hardly anyone ever reads.

Tony

Glen Greenwald has been noting, for years now, how hackers and whistleblowers are being persecuted, and that this, most of all, is Obama’s signature policy. I’m afraid us lefties have to admit that some of the Obama-bashers had a point: he’s an empty suit, with serious character deficiencies – and I begin to wonder about some of the wilder accusations as well …

Ah, but it’s Sweden, A Troll Writes. If Wikileaks has done us one service it is this: we now know, based on actual evidence, that that the US routinely manipulates politicians in almost every country, and that careers are built on willing subservience to Empire. Not an exaggeration or conspiracy, just facts of life. I have to admit to being somewhat surprised at the extent of US influence, on this I believe I had previously been somewhat naive.

And here we are. A guy gets arrested for a crime that isn’t a crime, a Government appears to have bribed another Government, and the authorities lie with impunity to the accused, and nobody gets fired, and nobody resigns. Julian Assange may be a bell-end, but he’s perfectly right to avoid Sweden at all costs. Personally I’d give him the Nobel Peace Prize, though I suspect even that prize is subject to US manipulations. Depressing.

It’s all generational.

The war generation looked down upon the 60s generation. The 60s generation looked down upon the 90s generation. And there’s all sorts of problems for the inbetweeners.

It’s important to remember here that the 90s generation was a heap of consumer pooh pooh.

They were even called “yoof”. They were so absent they had to be created.

They’re the generation that never thought to protest anything other than were they getting bad orgasms.

The present generation of young people seem more like they’re a bit pissed off with important stuff.

That’s why it’s important we support these young people against that horrible spirit-free 90s generation that is trying to destroy them.

Well put Brendan.

Welcome back Komodo.

My video about Anna Ardin and Irmeli Krans discussing the condom affair is getting favourable comments (in Australia at least) where I am informed it is popping up everywhere, but I suspect mostly on sites visited by people with a certain political viewpoint. I think the satire works, and I got a good deal of inspiration from the post and comments on this blog: “Why I think Anna Ardin is a Liar”. So thanks to one and all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nIrLS3gI8A&feature=context-gau

Passerby to TonyF12,
Just how much do these said “artists want to get paid?” and how many times do they intend to get paid for the same work over and over again?

Sorry, mate. You are talking garbage. Payments to musicians and composers are not only about funding greedy fatcats. I have been in the music business all my working life and most of us earn remarkably normal to low incomes. If our work is robbed by outfits like Pirate Bay then we cannot pay our rent, mortgages or supermarket bills. This is not a freedom issue and Pirate Bay deserves minimal support in the context of much greater insults to society. They help themselves to others’ work without consideration and I hope they go out of business.

I accept Craig’s point that Pirate Bay’s motivation may not be personal greed of the instigators. However taking the concept to a further extreme would justify encouraging thieving from supermarkets to feed and clothe the poor. The Establishment would not take kindly to that either, nor would the owners and staff of the supermarkets if it put them out of business.

Erik made this point

Ok, I made my point. But for deaf ears it seems. More fun with conspiracy than logic I guess?

But each to their own I guess. Enjoy your world. Don’t forget your tin foil hats…

From the Prosecutors’ website
Man arrested on suspicion of hacking
2012-09-11
The preliminary investigation concerning hacking against the company Logica has sprung interest made against a person previously convicted in Sweden for copyright infringement.
August 30th man arrested in Cambodia and subsequently sent to Sweden. Swedish prosecutors arrested the man this morning on suspicion of hacking. The time to ask him in custody expires on Friday, September 14 at 12 noon.

Prosecutor Henry Olin of the International Public Prosecution Office Stockholm can not say more about the investigation at the moment but will be back with more information as soon as possible.

http://www.aklagare.se/Media/Nyheter/Man-anhallen-misstankt-for-dataintrang/

Logica (formerly WM-data) has Skatteverket (Internal Revenue Service) as a customer. Svartholm is suspected of illegally obtaining classified information on Swedish Citizens.

Sweden does not have an extradition treaty with Cambodia. There was no extradition hearing. He was illegally in Cambodia, expired visa.
A Interpol Red Notice have been issued.

Revoked passport + expired visa = easy deportation

Now you can go into space with fanciful conspiracy theories. Don’t forget to put on your tin-foil hats.

Clark 12 Sep, 2012 – 3:06 pm.
Has Craig ever made that book public in some way. Torrent perhaps?

Thanks Jon,

How the recorded music embraces new technology like electronic delivery is a riddle which possibly has no solution at the stage we are now. One thing is for sure, the industry has a lot for which it alone deserves a high proportion of the blame. Had we embraced the concept earlier on instead of taking moral supposedly high ground and sending in Shock + Awe armies of lawyers, then we would be in a better place now.

The royalties from Spotify are not great, but there is a “BUY NOW” button which enables sales of the full product rather than the streaming. Royalties from iTunes and increasingly from YouTube are worth having. CDs still sell in quite a few markets and do well for concert artists and for the gift market to over 35′s.

The vacuum created by our industry’s initial knee-jerk response to reject electronic delivery enabled all sorts of low life to make money out of illegal downloads. Maybe Pirate Bay is or was operated by ‘nice’ people, but I still maintain that their intention was always to ride roughshod over musicians and composers by cutting off their supply of money to pay their mortgages. Business models for musicians have changed for sure, but so long as Pirate Bay and their ilk offer distribution of our material without payment we are being cut off at the knees.

My company has been in the recording business for decades and I have participated in various committees, thinktanks and workshops about electronic distribution. We are launching a label in the New Year and I am very ready to make it all work for us and for our musicians + composers, but the spectre of Pirate Bay enterprises slitting our throats is daunting. That freedom-fighter contributors on Craig’s blog think the Pirate Bay cause is just are simply missing a very important point – Pirate Bay breaks the law in a big way.

There is an excellent article, regarding this curious affair, at the AsiaTimesOnLine website

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NI14Ae01.html

For me, the key thing to keep in mind in both the extradition of Svartholm and Assange is the fact that George W Bush’s and Romney’s electoral strategist Karl Rove (no less) is an adviser to the Swedish government on the Assange case.

http://www.wikileaks-forum.com/index.php?topic=14060.0

The Swedish government is pro-US and always has been extremely Russophobic. For those of us who recall the image of Sweden being neutral during WW2 and quite liberal in the post war period, it should be recalled that in earlier times in history, Sweden had its own predatory Empire. Between 1560-1815, the Swedish Empire ruled over Finland, the part of Russia where modern St Petersburg is now located, Estonia and parts of present day Latvia including the capital Riga. It also ruled over colonies on the northern coast of present day Poland and Germany. See this map:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swedish_Empire_in_Early_Modern_Europe_%281560-1815%29.png

The Swedish Empire regarded the Baltic Sea as its largest lake (Sweden itself being one enormous lake district).

In the Great Northern War, 1700–21, Denmark–Norway, Saxony, Poland-Lithuania and Russia declared war on the Swedish Empire. The war ended with a defeat for Sweden. Russia’s Peter I consolidated the victory by building the city of St Petersburg in 1703. See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern_War

This history of inter-imperialist rivalry between Sweden and Russia in the Baltic region explains to a degree the reason why modern day Sweden is so pro-US and Russophobic. To this very day there is no ferry line from Stockholm to St Petersburg.

So, basically, are we saying that Sweden bribed Cambodia to deport a alleged Wikileaks associate? From his original post, it would seem that Craig source(s) suggest(s) this. Goran’s interjection here is interesting. Why the aspersions and references to “tinfoil hats”? Are we not simply in pursuit of the truth? It would be really useful to have someone else with the requisite knowledge who is Swedish – in Sweden – offer an opinion on these boards on this specific matter.