After being accused of insensitivity over Assange rape allegations Keith Olbermann suspend his . . .

[wndycty]

. . .twitter account.

Keith Olbermann Suspends Twitter Account After Attacks Over Handling Of Assange Rape Charges

The Huffington Post | Jack Mirkinson First Posted: 12-16-10 03:02 PM

Keith Olbermann announced Thursday that he is suspending his Twitter account in response to sustained and, in his opinion, unwarranted attacks over his handling of the rape allegations surrounding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Assange's legal troubles have been rife with confusion and controversy about what he is alleged to have done, and the nature of the crimes he has been charged with. Many have urged people not to dismiss the rape allegations as merely politically motivated, while others have said they are a smokescreen for a war against WikiLeaks.

One of the people making the claim that the case has been overblown is filmmaker Michael Moore, who also contributed $20,000 for Assange's bail. On Tuesday, Moore explained why he had contributed the money. He also appeared on that night's "Countdown." In response, the website TigerBeatDown harshly criticized Moore for writing that the allegations against Assange were "strange" and that people should "never, ever believe the 'official story.'" The site launched a Twitter campaign to get Moore to apologize. TigerBeatDown also criticized Olbermann for retweeting a link by Bianca Jagger which dismissed the charges and possibly revealed the identities of Assange's accusers.

Olbermann began receiving a flood of heated criticism on Twitter for hosting Moore and for retweeting Jagger's post. In response, Olbermann apologized for any offense he had caused, but denied that he had done anything else wrong, writing on Wednesday:

Rape has touched my family, directly and savagely, and if anybody thinks I have addressed it without full sensitivity, then that assessment is the one that counts, and I apologize. But these accusations that I "revealed" an accuser's identity by retweeting Bianca Jagger's link, or that I 'shamed' an accuser by asking a question about the prosecution of a man governments are trying to bury, or that I do not 'understand' charges that have yet to be presented in their final form, reflect exactly the kind of rushing to judgment of which I'm accused, and merit the same kind of apology I have just given.
-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/keith-olbermann-suspends-twitter-account_n_797845.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/16/keith-olbermann-suspends-twitter-account_n_797845.html

[Joanne98]

1. It's interesting to watch the fake rape defenders come out of the closet..

What kind of evil women would use fake rape charges to make defenders of REAL journalism feel guilty?

Whoever's doing it must be RW operatives!

Or maybe just corporate whores!

[Hannah Bell]

58. +100. They do the same with everything. Object to anti-muslim war propaganda?

oh, you're a defender of genital amputation!

object to privatization of education!
oh, you're a defender of bad education for black urban youth!

object to tax cuts for the rich?
oh, then you must want unemployed people to starve!

The sickos serve up their attacks on democracy with a side-dish & try to make out the side dish = the main course.

[truedelphi]

2. I stand with Keith.

And I was very disappointed in hearing some of Maddow's assessment of Assange.

She doesn't seem to understand that the things we have been told by Wikileaks involve:

One) The leaks have been redacted within the Wikieaks org itself in order to present truths that will not hurt and sacrifice lives of people in the field. For instance, those leaks pertaining to Iraq were examined to make sure that they did not reveal senstive troop movements, which is why the leaks from Iraq involve events some six months prior to the release date.

Two) The other nations of the wrold have intelligence agencies that are able to know most of the things invovled in the Wikileaks material. It is only the American people who are left in the dark.

An example of how much other nations know- officials from at least three other nations warned our top officials of an attack on the WTC prior to the event. Some even stipulated a dated window for the attack's occurrence- between Sept 5th and 15th, 2001.

While our government insists on taking away our right to be secure within our persons, our government is not all that superb in gathering inforamtion that is needed.

[AngryAmish]

5. A hypothetical

Country A has a terrible human rights record. Secret police, torture, murder of journalists and dissidents, the whole thing. Wikileaks gets a cable from the US stating they had a conversation with journalist B in Country A who said the word on the street is dissident C has been placed under house secret arrest.

County A does not it's people or journalists talking to the USA. They think Journalists B, C, D, E or F would talk to the US. SO the secret police look over the cables. Well, Journalist C could not have spoken to the US since he was out of the country. Journalist D had pneumonia. Might be Journalist E, but we have bugged his phone and it does not add up. So, it was either Journalist F or B. Let's grab them both, punch them in the nuts a few times and see who cracks first.

Is this a good thing?

[truedelphi]

7. Country A doesn't need Wikileaks to help them at all.

believe me, they already have it down.


And as far as some country "A" having a terrible human rights record, with people executed on a monthly basis for crimes they didn't commit, and with the world's highest prison inmate to free citizen ratio in the world, where Federal Military Officals can allow secret police and secret military to seize a taxicab and torture the driver until every bone in his body was broken, some several times over, and in the final hours of torture, even the torturers realize they were mistaken but that realization doesn't help the man, who dies, that country "A" happens to be my nation, The good ol USA.

And habeus corpus will not be restored to our land any time soon.

[AngryAmish]

10. A non-answer. Very good.

Perfect, in fact.

Keep it up.

[EFerrari]

17. It's the best answer that question diserved.

Do you seriously think any country needs wikileaks to accuse someone of collaborating with the United States, not to mention, most of the brutal regimes around the world are US government allies, that's how they got to power or stay in power and they'd be on the other side of your scenario?

Good grief.

[AngryAmish]

22. Let us consider Russia

They do not lock up every journalist and it always creates some heat for them to do so. Many journalists have been locked up and killed. But they can't lock up everybody. Do you think it advances the interests of the US to have every journalist there afraid to talk to the US for fear of being outed?

[EFerrari]

28. I don't know. Do you think it's in the interest of journalists

to have Donald Rumsfeld bomb their offices or render them to Gitmo or shoot them to death in their hotels or for HIllary Clinton to turn a blind eye to their torture and murder in Honduras, in her bloodless coup?

It's a matter of perspective.

Wikileaks hasn't seemed to chill anything but the sorry @sses of people who have been outed as liars. Nobody blown up or kidnapped or dead. No negotiation snapped shut.

The only collateral damage so far are these people who thought they could hide their bs behind a classification.

[Canuckistanian]

46. +1

I'm glad you're on DU. :thumbsup:

[ProudDad]

50. Good answer to a meaningless loaded question

:shrug:

[treestar]

16. It's "collateral damage" to whatever good Julian is supposed to be doing

And praised by some of the same people who want the wars to end now due to all the suffering. Now death for others is OK! Unbelievable.

[EFerrari]

19. That's hilarious. There has been no collateral damage to the wikileak releases

except the egos of the lying liars who wrote those cables.

Your reasoning is unbelievable. lol

[treestar]

21. What of the hypothetical

and Julian his dreamy self answered the hypothetical with the "collateral damage" line.

[EFerrari]

25. More bs. And it's so funny that you think of people as dreamy or not dreamy

and project that all over people you talk to.

[treestar]

42. Your dreamy hero said people would be collateral damage

Hopefully his attention seeking ass is wrong.

[Forkboy]

47. You support the war in Afghanistan. You're worried about "collateral damage" now?

C'mon, who are you kidding? Your post here is posturing at it's finest.

[Lyric]

59. The problem point in your hypothetical is not the leaking of the cables.

The problem truly begins when Country A kidnaps its journalists and proceeds to beat and torture them. We are not responsible for the abuses of Country A, because we do not own or govern Country A. If we pretend like the fault lies with Wikileaks rather than with Country A itself, then we're giving Country A a free pass to be as abusive and horrible as it wants without any consequences whatsoever.

We can't force the Country A's of the world to stop being abusive to their citizens. We simply don't have the authority. However, we also can't forego seeking the justice and truth that are important to OTHER peoples' lives in order to cater to the Country A's of the world. We can't ask the watchdog organizations of the world (like Wikileaks) to remain silent and give up on speaking important truths so that countries like China, Iran, and North Korea won't abuse their citizens. If the abuse is the problem, then it's the abuse that we should be outraged about...not the truth speaking.

[treestar]

3. It does make an interesting disconnect

All of the feminist tomes I have read are very against the idea of calling the victims liars, that is the very thing they find wrong.

Why is it so hard for the left to separate these acts? Even if the leaking is a wonderful thing, it is possible that Julian is guilty of the Swedish charges. Why can't they accept that even as a possibility? Because they want to make him into a hero. They are more interested in him than in the leaked information. If he's guilty of these sex crimes, it won't fit together. They can't praise him for the leaks and hang onto him as a hero; they'd be left with only the leaked information.

[Oilwellian]

6. Could you please remind us....

Exactly what are these "sex crimes" Sweden is claiming Assange committed? Thanks in advance.

[glinda]

13. Swore I just heard NPR say sex with a minor. Honestly. WTF.

[Matariki]

32. Oh yeah, I was surprised that wasn't there from the start.

Accusations of sex with a minor, child porn and the like is usually enough to destroy a person without even having hard evidence.

If that becomes the meme about Assange, I'm going to take a vacation from DU, because I know exactly what will happen here.

[ProudDad]

51. He/she/it doesn't need any of those pesky "facts"...

Or inconvenient truths...

she/he/it is "convinced" that Assange must be guilty since he's a self-confessed traitor to the Empire...

[Boudica the Lyoness]

8. Calling these two Swedish accusers "Victims"

just rubs me wrong. It seems to take something away from women who have actually been raped.

Rape is forced, unwanted sexual intercourse. Rape is not about how you feel the next day.

[truebrit71]

12. I know, the title 'victim' assumes that the crimes were committed. Isn't that what the trial is for?

"alleged" has apparently been forgotten..

[rucky]

35. When I was a crime reporter, I would've been fired several times over

if I covered this case the way it's covered here - that goes for people on both "sides"

[treestar]

15. That is anti-feminist to my mind

The idea that women make false charges of rape. It is strange that it's now the left so willing to assume these two are lying.

Which they might not be doing, were the accused someone they didn't want to make into a hero.

These charges are completely separate, yet it is Julian's acts on one issue that make it impossible for his fans to believe he'd do something wrong.

[AlabamaLibrul]

18. Generally speaking, my first reaction to a woman connected to an anti-Castro group who calls rape on

a major person who the sorts of folks who fund anti-Castro groups want to see disappear, is to be skeptical.

I can't say one way or the other on what the absolute truth is, but my first reaction is to doubt it a bit.

[treestar]

24. Well from what I have read in feminist books about it

That kind of thing is frowned upon. No matter who she is, she has the right not to be raped.

The idea of women making false rape charges normally enrages feminists. Where are they to defend these particular women?

And the case has not been tried yet, so it's interesting - if he's guilty, why would it damage whatever good the leaks are supposed to do? They'd still be leaked.

[superduperfarleft]

27. What feminist books have you read? n/t

[EFerrari]

30. Do you even know a single feminist?

You seem to be repeating the right wing bs that feminists spent all their spare time in rages.

LOL

In fact, false charges hurt real victims. That's something to get upset about.

[treestar]

39. LOL. Feminists do NOT talk of false charges

[EFerrari]

45. This one is. You know, we're not like unicorns.

:)

[Boudica the Lyoness]

49. You are in the company of feminists here.

Didn't you know that?

I'm confused why someone who posts here would have to read books to learn about feminists. It's as nutty as a DU member reading about liberals and arguing with us about what 'real liberals' think.. Please explain.

[defendandprotect]

57. EXCEPT ... this particular "professional anti-feminist" bragged out how to

deal with an ex-lover by getting him in trouble with the law --

That doesn't make you a wee bit suspicious?

And you should also read the Michael Moore thread which reveals that

after all SWEDEN doesn't take rape of women very seriously -- rarely

trying cases of rape --

unless your name is "Assange" of course --

First judge dismissed the rape charges -- another judge brought in who reinstated them.

NO other nation has anything like this rape "law" -- re broken condom.

And it looks like no one has ever been tried under that law --

Nice to see you so concerned about feminism, treestar --

[EFerrari]

23. Oh, bulleria. Plenty of feminists have called bullshit

on this time worn tactic of trying to smear someone on sex charges when they want him for something else.

That is a measure of respect for women who have to fight to be heard in most systems, not the other way around.

[treestar]

26. Find one example of that

And what would it matter if Julian was guilty of rape? Would that undermine the wonderment of these terrific leaks somehow?

[EFerrari]

29. Are you kidding? Democrats have been targeted for sex scandals

as long as I remember, starting with Kennedy.

And maybe you could answer your own question be reading 1 (one) cable or even a summary of what has been out so far.

[treestar]

40. Sex scandals and rape are different

Monica and JFK's conquests are one thing.

Feminists normally would not go along with the anti-woman position.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

36. He's a hero to me.

I think a feminist like me understands that women can tell fibs about all kinds of things, including rape. Even if the Swedish women are telling the truth...so what. From what I understand, the rubber broke, he said he'd hang around and the Swedish authorities said don't bother, you can leave..so he did. That is not my idea of rape and it seems like I'm not alone in that thinking. The only country that considers it rape is Sweden. And now Sweden wants him back there...sex crimes be damned.

Even if what the Swedes are accusing him of is true, I still have no problem with calling Julian a hero.

[treestar]

41. Pathetic.

Having a crush on Julian is silly. He merely exposed our country's classified documents. And separately must answer to Sweden.

If he raped someone, he's still a hero? That is pathetic in the extreme.

He'll disappoint you as Obama did.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

48. It's more than a crush

This is the real thing...this is love and you are so jealous. The only love some people can find is from a TSA groping. Stand in line authoritarian followers for your degrading feel up and maybe some sweet nothings in your ear from Rush.

How many times do you have to hear..HE DIDN'T RAPE ANYONE. And he is my hero and millions of other peoples all over the world. You talk about OUR country like we are all Americans...look at a map of the world.. there's more there than America.

I hear the snap of the blue rubber gloves calling you.

[ProudDad]

53. Don't feed the tro....

[Oilwellian]

43. I noticed you never answered my question...

and again you're implying he was charged with rape. Would you please direct us to your source for that allegation? Thanks in advance.

[ProudDad]

52. Your contention that

That "the idea that women make false charges of rape" is "anti-feminist" ...

IS Anti-feminist...

Women are just as capable of lying as men...

And it's irrelevant to me (and most of those you mislabel his "fans" (Hmm, "Fans". That would be those 2 women, wouldn't it? I know the lengths to which Groupies will go...)...

Anyway, it's irrelevant to me and most of those you mislabel "fans" whether he's guilty of a broken condom and not calling them back after sex or not... :eyes:

[krabigirl]

54. IDK, but when you throw yourself at someone, and then decide the next day that you were raped...

that definitely takes away from real rape victims.

[EFerrari]

20. You were already this morning giving a letter from Women Against Rape

that objected to the way rape charges are being used as a political football.

A letter you did not respond to, at that.

[Ozymanithrax]

33. Because people want to believe a hero is incapable of such things...

that a hero is a hero in ever aspect of his or her life.

That is one reason why his purity is being championed.

Then, there is the fact that sliming someone this way is a well used method of destroying those who do good things.

It is sort of like Eliot Spitzer. He was thought of highly until he was found to have consorted and cavorted with prostitutes. Did that mean he was not a man who championed the law, or did it just mean he was a Hypocrite?

[SidDithers]

4. Keith's a bit sensitive about criticism...

didn't he take his ball and go home at Kos too?

Sid

[DCKit]

9. Maybe he just doesn't have the time to waste.

People who are getting their information from Faux probably think the allegations were "rape at knife-point" and are completely unaware how lame the charges really are, or how fluid the evolution of the various stories put out to support those allegations.

[Kurovski]

11. RE time: particularly when he knows he's dealing with right-wingers disguised as libs.

some of the tweeters are fairly transparent.

[glinda]

14. Think that there is an all out effort to attack him no matter what.

He could have been talking about even something else IMHO.

[TexasObserver]

31. The word "rape" should only be used to describe what's being done TO Assange.

That nonsense in Sweden? No.

[mstinamotorcity]

34. No the word should only be used

when an actual crime has been committed and and upon conviction of the crime should it be called that. Most people use sexual assault. What is being done to Mr. Assange in my opinion is not for what he has leaked, but what he could. Anytime I see the republicans ranting about treason,and liberties,and all other fear talking points, I smell bad republican breath!!!!!:hi:

[TexasObserver]

37. Don't agree entirely.

We use "rape" to mean more things than sexual assault for which someone has been convicted.

[mstinamotorcity]

38. I did not expect you to agree with me.

Its just that in this instance he is linked to the alleged assault of two women and only wanted for questioning. And you are right we do use the term for more than sexual assault. It's just as a woman I find the word in poor taste when making an implication that the two are comparable, is borderline okay. The attack on Mr. Assange character is in my opinion un warranted. But I understand the out rage but don't like some of the rhetoric around it. I am not angry just a woman.

[sabrina 1]

44. I don't know why he is apologizing. The two women

involved both stated 'there was no rape, no violence and no fear of violence'. So these phony defenders of 'rape victims' reveal their willingness to falsely accuse someone of rape for political purposes.

In fact it is THEY who are victimizing these women by making claims the women themselves have no made. They are fully grown women, not children, and ignoring their statements that there was no rape, is an insult to all women. Believe it or not, and contrary to Swedish lawyer who believes a woman doesn't get to decide if she was raped, the government does, WE KNOW what rape is and IF we were raped.

How insulting to real rape victims to see this happening.

Keith needs to stop tweeting and exposing himself to the anti-women crowd whose only reason for their pretense of defending non-existent rape victims, is political.

He should just do his show and stick with the facts. IF there was any kind of rape, WHERE ARE THE CHARGES? And why were the Swedish prosecutors unable to produce evidence for the British court today, which they were required to do in order to justify a denial of bail?

There was no rape. Keith should know by now how often women are used for political purposes and simply ask them to produce the evidence which even the prosecutors have failed to do.

This is a smear campaign intended to silence someone. Using women and rape to try to do it. I am very happy to see that most intelligent women have rejected this abuse of what is a very serious issue. They thought they had a winner, 'accuse him of rape and he's finished'. But, this is getting old, the smearing of messengers and people are not as easily manipulated as they used to be. They've cried wolf one too many times.

[krabigirl]

55. I agree..he shouldn't apologize.

[defendandprotect]

56. Turns out SWEDEN doesn't take rape very seriously....only in Assange's case ...!!!

see the Michael Moore thread on this -- !!

[ampad]

60. Oh sorry OP

I refuse to click on Huffington Post. I was on another message board yesterday where someone posted those tweets. They also posted the comments from tigerbeatdown.com,those ladies handed Moore and Keith their asses. It was so refreshing to see that outside of the bubble many women are not taking that crap from Keith and Moore. I also think that it is hilarious that Keith turned off his twitter.I say good on tigerbeatdown!

[Scurrilous]

61. ...

:thumbsup:

[Blue_Tires]

62. When the sexual assault case against Assange falls apart, TigerBeat

needs to be one of the first to apologize...

Not only are her "facts" of the case highly dubious, she's practically already convicted Assange and doesn't entertain for a second that there could be political motivation behind the charges..