"There were some five million web pages including my name...four million of those also mentioned the word 'rape'. There are thirty-three million web pages altogether on the internet that mention the word 'rape' in any context...so this has been a very successful smear campaign."
So 12% of all web pages mentioning rape also mention Julian Assange. Damn.
Personally, the sexual assault allegations seem highly dubious. All the back-and-forth by the Swedes and the withdrawal of one of the supposed victims makes me extremely doubtful that there is substance behind them. I don't know if Assange will be extradited or not, but I would be incredibly surprised if he was convicted on the basis of these allegations.
When a person is accused of a serious crime, but is not convicted, I normally wonder how their reputation could possibly recover. However, the allegations in Assanges' case have been so badly handled that I suspect his reputation was damaged only a fraction as much as it could have been.
His bail was delayed because of an appeal by the British prosecutors (not the Swedes - fishy that) on the grounds that he had a high risk of absconding. This strikes me as the prosecutors desperately doing everything possible to keep him in jail. Assange wants to clear his name, not live underground for the rest of his life.
At least that's my idle analysis. In any case, I'm very interested to see how this plays out, far more interested than I am in the brouhaha over student fees.
Here's the interview:
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