Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+

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Assange Has Signed Book Deals Worth $1.5 Million+

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday December 27, 2010 @02:00AM from the that's-a-lotta-leaks dept.

cold fjord writes "Julian Assange has signed a major book deal for his autobiography worth more than one million pounds (1.2 million euros, 1.5 million dollars). Assange told Britain's Sunday Times newspaper that the money would help him defend himself against allegations of sexual assault made by two women in Sweden. 'I don't want to write this book, but I have to,' he said. 'I have already spent 200,000 pounds for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat.' The Australian said he would receive 800,000 dollars (600,000 euros) from Alfred A. Knopf, his American publisher, and a British deal with Canongate is worth 325,000 pounds (380,000 euros, 500,000 dollars). Money from other markets and serialisation is expected to raise the total to 1.1 million pounds, he said. Assange is currently out on £240,000 bail under what his lawyer refers to as not so much 'house arrest' as 'manor arrest', fighting extradition to Sweden for questioning. The Telegraph adds, 'Mr Assange said he regarded himself as a victim of Left-wing radicalism. Sweden is the Saudi Arabia of feminism,' he said. 'I fell into a hornets' nest of revolutionary feminism.' .... A full extradition hearing is due in London on February 7th."

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Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Improv · 2010-12-27 02:03 · Score: 5, Interesting

I wouldn't read too much into Assange's claims of revolutionary feminism being at fault. It's too hard to know whether he's someone playing fast and loose with sexual morals or a victim of jealousy - both seem very plausible given the parties involved.

--
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
1. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-27 02:11 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Innocent until proven guilty.
  All we know is that a controversial figure is being charged with "sex by surprise" after being accused by two women who didn't decide to report him until after they met each other. Even then, charges were filed, then dropped, then filed again.
  He may be guilty, but I don't see any evidence. If this is all they can put in front of the jury, he should be found not guilty.
2. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-27 02:35 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  Innocent until proven guilty.
  All we know is that a controversial figure is being charged with "sex by surprise" after being accused by two women who didn't decide to report him until after they met each other. Even then, charges were filed, then dropped, then filed again.
  He may be guilty, but I don't see any evidence. If this is all they can put in front of the jury, he should be found not guilty.
  We like to think of them as damsels in distress or innocent little princesses, but the truth is women lie. A lot. About very serious matters like rape. They will continue to do so as long as the consequences to them are so non-existant. Something like 30% of all US rape accusations turn out to be false.
  
  For all crimes, for both men and women, if you knowingly lie and knowingly make a false criminal accusation against someone, you should face whatever penalty that person would have faced if convicted.
3. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-27 02:59 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  No, but he's a well-known megalomaniac with a history of believing that only his version of morality is correct and constantly blames others for his own actions. Does that work for you?
4. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by qbast · 2010-12-27 03:04 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  And how exactly do you determine "false"? Do you also count situations when victim got threatened into dropping charges or rapist got out on technicality?
5. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-27 03:22 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Innocent until proven guilty?
  If only... his point about Sweden being the Saudi Arabia of feminism is correct. It's the model that most Western countries are working towards too - one in which all a woman has to do is accuse a man of rape to completely ruin his life. She walks away anonymous. His reputation is completely destroyed - and probably loses his job and friends. Rape accusations have become the way for women to ensure custody of children in divorces, promotions or just get revenge.
  The ridiculous unbalancing of the legal system is now being used for political purposes too.
6. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-12-27 04:24 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  I was accused of rape by an ex girlfriend when I was 17. She did it for revenge. It cost my family 10 grand and fucked me up so much I dropped out of college (this got drug out for two years). In the end, she admitted to making it all up, and she received no punishment whatsoever. I didn't even get an apology from the prosecutor that did this nor the one cop that threatened to kill me (over the phone).
  Thankfully, she ruined her own life in doing this because my family and I started a massive truth campaign that turned the community against her because her story kept changing. She is now a fat washed up cunt who's husband is in prison.
  Well that was all 10 years ago. But the experience will always be with me. The FACT is that women lie about things like this all the time. People that defend it have never had it happen to them. I have a daughter that is 4 years old. I would would question such an accusation coming out of her mouth as well. Probably because of how well she has been parented, she would never make such an accusation. As she grows older, she will fully understand the consequences of doing something like this to someone. Andrea, my ex, obviously didn't. It looks like the idiot prosecutor (who lost the next election after this) now has his own law office in Riverside CA on Orange ST. He used to practice about 1500 miles due east from where he is currently at.
  Here's hoping more misfortune befalls Andrea and Steve, everyone in their family, and their childrens' children for generations to come. My life has been great since this incident and hopefully will continue to get better.
7. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Firethorn · 2010-12-27 05:11 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  NOT the GP, but the 30% caught my attention, so I'll provide a source - False Rape Reporting
  Dr. Kanin found 41% of accustations were found to be 'false'. Two studies - one by the FBI and one by Britain, using 'similar methodology' found 8%, but 'does not include accusers who drop out of hte justice process'.
  Wiki lists 45%, 41%, 8%, 8%. Average of 25.5% across 4 quoted figures.
  Depending on how you define a 'rape accusation', 30% is a reasonable figure, I think. One critical difference would be whether your standard requires reporting to the police, for example.
  I had a friend who was accused of rape by a girl - the police hardly even bothered to take a report from her, because they'd lost count of how many times she's tried it. Very much a case of 'crying wolf'. Think 'crazy stalker chick'. It was figured out she was lying within minutes in this case - he had an airtight alibi for when she said it occured.
  She's the type who puts additional stress on women who have really been assaulted, because additional police resources are taken up by her false accusations and it makes the cops doubt anybody who comes in.
  While I fully support rapists going to prison; I think that woman needed to spend some time behind bars herself for false reporting. But that also makes me grimace- if you've made a false rape report, you're more likely to follow through and put an innocent man behind bars simply to protect yourself.
  It's *complicated*, but we need to find a proper balance - I'm thinking if you make a false report, that's beyond obvious, or if it comes out that you maliciously falsified the charge and it resulted in the conviction of an innocent, you need to spend some time in prison. If you fess up BEFORE the trial; then we'll let you go(for that offense).
  It's kinda like the military's drug policy - self identify and you'll face no charges. Wait until you're caught, charges.
  
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  I don't read AC A human right
8. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Doc+Ruby · 2010-12-27 05:15 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  No, he can't go out and murder and rape people on camera and it's just a USA plot to discredit him. Only you said that. So you are underscoring the other post's point that you are an idiot - and not just because you're "naive".
  Assange is the only person whose "wanted for questioning" by Swedish police for a crime of this minor nature has been escalated into an international manhunt, enlisted Interpol, and within days hauled the UK justice system into extradition proceedings. He is being singled out, from all the many people over many years who were wanted by Swedish police for questioning in this matter. He differs from them in that he leaked many cables more or less damaging to the USA.
  Regardless of what happened between Assange and the two women accusing him (which is certainly not "murder and rape people on camera", and isn't even actually rape, but rather a failure to stop consensual sex) - it is perfectly clear to everyone that Assange is being railroaded by the USA. Except perhaps to idiots.
  
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  make install -not war
9. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by joss · 2010-12-27 05:20 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  > Your advice comes down to: avoid pre-marital sex
  Fuck you. My guess is either you are a born again Christian or the kind of guy who can't get laid anyway so pretends its about a moral 'high ground' rather than admitting to being a loser.
  I really think people should avoid pre-sexual marriage. If people got laid enough before choosing a life partner there would be fewer divorces and fucked-up children around, the world would be a better place.
  
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  http://rareformnewmedia.com/
10. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by drsmithy · 2010-12-27 06:28 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  If your wanted for rape and they know your location the same thing would happen to you or me.
  I can guarantee that if it happened to "you or me", neither of us would have made it to Interpol's most wanted list, nor had to produce a quarter-million-quid's worth of bail in the face of a complete lack of evidence, or even formal charges. Unless there's something about you you're not telling ?
  That's is the kind of thing that happens to violent serial offenders with a long history of crimes and victims, not people accused for the first time of - and not even by the victim, but the state - relatively low-grade sexual assault.
  he can't stop talking to the media so it was simple to actually find him. If they know of your location it is easier to find you.
  He didn't need to be "found" because he wasn't trying to be "lost". He co-operated fully with the Swedish authorities before - with their permission - leaving Sweden and then fully with the UK authorities when there was actually cause to do so.
  My personal favorite part was when the guardian published (leaked) the police reports from the ladies on Julian, and Julian and his lawyers cried foul as leaking private information about a private case like that is wrong.
  And it is.
  Testimony in a ongoing legal proceeding against a private individual is a completely different ballgame to historical record of Government dealings. If you cannot figure that out, you shouldn't be commenting.
11. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by sco08y · 2010-12-27 06:40 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Your logic reported you to the UN for torturing it. Besides, if you really think soliders aren't capable of, and encouraged to, think of shooting someone in a warzone as an almost orgasmic experience, you really need to talk to a few more soldiers.
  Well, being a veteran, a few combat veterans actually opened up to me, and none of them said anything remotely like that.
  While in, I formulated a rule that if someone claimed something that sounded over the top, I would divide by ten or drop it an order of magnitude, whichever made more sense. If someone was a great mechanic, it meant he could probably change the oil on his car. If his girlfriend was a model, she was probably average. One story about 200 confirmed kills turned into 100, then definitely 30, and BTW it was indirect so not "confirmed kills" as much as "estimated BDA." And damned near every National Guard idiot has a collection of combat patches of units he knows nothing about, and they all claim to be infantry because they were slotted as infantry for six months.
  So, really, if someone is talking about how shooting someone was "orgasmic," first of all, I'd be suspicious as to whether the person really was a combat veteran, because that's just not how I've ever heard it described on the *rare* occasion they talk about it. And even then, I'd take it with a huge fucking grain of salt, because I guarantee you that there are guys who will lie their asses off about that, and do it with a tone of total reverence.
12. Re:Without specifics, I think we should be wary... by Doc+Ruby · 2010-12-27 07:16 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Assange is the only person wanted for questioning in a case like this who was the subject of an Interpol bulletin and now a UK extradition. Because he is being railroaded by the USA.
  I didn't say that the USA set up whatever happened between Assange and the two women in Sweden - you did. I said that the manhunt that is working to extradite him was set up by the USA.
  I also said that you are an idiot. You are.
  Goodbye.
  
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  make install -not war
Deserves release of draft PDF by keehun · 2010-12-27 02:13 · Score: 5, Funny

If there was anything deserving of a WikiLeaks leak, it's this book before it's published in its pdf form. Teach Assange a lesson.
Rape allegations by superdana · 2010-12-27 02:21 · Score: 4, Interesting
I know this is probably asking too much of Slashdot, but in discussing the rape allegations against Assange, let's please remember that it's well within the realm of possibility for all three of the following to be true simultaneously:
1. Wikileaks is important, and we should promote its continued existence.
2. The tactics in use by various governments to pursue the rape allegations against Assange are politically motivated.
3. The rape allegations are true and Assange should be held to account.
(Please note that I am saying these three things can all be true at the same time, not that any one or all of them necessarily are.)

Many falsehoods have been spread about the allegations against Assange. In addition, the circumstances surrounding the allegations, as well as certain actions by the women who made them, have been used to discredit those women. But these are, as Kate Harding puts it, "tactics used to discredit rape victims every day, and not Really Convincing Special Facts About This Particular Case." [1] (I very strongly urge you to read her piece in its entirety.)

Please don't let your admiration for Assange's work with Wikileaks prevent you from taking seriously an accusation of rape. Rape is a serious crime, and accusations of rape need to be taken seriously, even if—perhaps especially if—they are made against people we otherwise consider to be heroic.

[1] "Some Shit I'm Sick of Hearing Regarding Rape and Assange": http://kateharding.info/2010/12/16/some-shit-im-sick-of-hearing-regarding-rape-and-assange/
1. Re:Rape allegations by betterunixthanunix · 2010-12-27 02:47 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Please don't let your admiration for Assange's work with Wikileaks prevent you from taking seriously an accusation of rape. Rape is a serious crime, and accusations of rape need to be taken seriously, even ifperhaps especially ifthey are made against people we otherwise consider to be heroic.
  Look, I know that in this day and age we are not supposed to say it, but a line does have to be drawn somewhere when it comes to defining rape. If the women claimed that they had been drugged, or that they never consented to have sex with Assange, I would be a bit more willing to hear their claims of rape. However, both women did consent, but are claiming that Assange went "too far" and failed to stop on command -- continuing to have sex with a broken condom, having sex while one of them was asleep, etc. If we start to call these things rape, then a lot of people out there are going to be implicated, including an ex-girlfriend of mine (to be clear, I would not even consider accusing her of raping me).
  
  Either "rape" means violence, or it does not. I agree with the Huffington Post piece quoted in that blog post you linked to: we should not conflate what Assange did the sort of violent crime that most people think of when they think "rape." The last thing we need is for "rape" to refer to things that are so commonplace that people forget that there are truly dangerous rapists out there.
  
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  Palm trees and 8
2. Re:Rape allegations by LainTouko · 2010-12-27 02:49 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The tactics in use by various governments to pursue the rape allegations against Assange are politically motivated.
  The rape allegations are true and Assange should be held to account.
  
  It's pretty difficult for two statements like that to be simultaneously true. For it to be right to hold Assange to account, the allegations don't just need to be true (something which is unknowable), they need to be provable beyond reasonable doubt. If various powerful governments want your head and are prepared to use underhanded tactics in order to get it, it's very difficult to maintain that doubt is unreasonable.
3. Re:Rape allegations by chrb · 2010-12-27 02:52 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  The rape allegations are true and Assange should be held to account.
  The problem is that people keep using that word - "Rape". It has an enormous number of negative connotations. Read the link you provided at kateharding.info - how many times does she use the "R" word? Rape, rape rape... From what we know of the Assange case, the women who he is accused of "raping" both continued to see him afterwards. One took him out for breakfast the next day, and paid for his train ticket back into Stockholm. Another arranged a party for him the next day, during which she twittered "Sitting outside; nearly freezing; with the world's coolest people; it's pretty amazing." These are not the actions of women who have been raped - at least, not in the sense of what the majority of people consider the word "rape" to mean. Calling whatever supposedly happened between Assange and these women "rape" diminishes the word, and is grossly offensive to both men and women who have genuinely been the victims of forced sexual intercourse.
4. Re:Rape allegations by Seumas · 2010-12-27 03:03 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  What an amazing turn of words. To say that circumstances around claims and actions by those making the accusations are merely "tactics used to discredit rape victims everyday" is abhorrent. That's a shameless attempt to equate it to saying "she was probably asking for it". The truth is that those "tactics" are used to discredit all sorts of accusations about everything all the time. If you don't take these things into consideration when judging the validity of an accusation, then what the fuck else *is* there?
  It's a horrible and sickening crime and that's why the accused should always be given full benefit of doubt and investigation of validity of such weighty claims must be thorough and unquestionable.
  Merely googling phrases like "woman admits false rape claim" produce more than enough news articles for me to justify never merely accepting an accusation without intense scrutiny and certainly never believing the accused is guilty until proven well beyond any doubt. Of course, we protect accusers in this country, without affording the same right to the accused -- and their life is ruined forever after merely by the accusation, even if it is found to be false.
  Remember the beginning of this year, when two women accused a man of rape . . . because they said the consensual sex wasn't very good?
5. Re:Rape allegations by Marcika · 2010-12-27 03:06 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Many falsehoods have been spread about the allegations against Assange. In addition, the circumstances surrounding the allegations, as well as certain actions by the women who made them, have been used to discredit those women. But these are, as Kate Harding puts it, "tactics used to discredit rape victims every day, and not Really Convincing Special Facts About This Particular Case." [1] (I very strongly urge you to read her piece in its entirety.)
  I've read that post in its entirety, and most of the comments as well. I'm close to throwing up. By her own admission Harding is "an arrogant, man-hating cunt who hates free speech, can’t tolerate dissenting opinions, and lives to preserve [her] echo chamber of brainwashed sycophants". I agree fully. Most of these women advocate locking Assange away indefinitely without trial or hearing; anyone who mentions the evidence against the women (like those oh-so-caring/admiring Tweets about him the day after the alleged 'rape') gets immediately banned by Harding.
  Given the apparent echo-chamber nature of reactions to the allegations on these feminist sites, I start to seriously lean towards discounting the women's statements and assuming innocence, given that word stands against word anyway.
Re:hmm by Truekaiser · 2010-12-27 02:29 · Score: 4, Interesting

well to be honest if it wasn't for what he did the site would of been ignored like cryptome. in which case just getting the leaked documents would of done nothing if the site they were leaked too was ignored and derided as fake if actually brought up as cryptome often is. he became both the figurehead and the pr man for wikileaks not only approaching normal newspapers with the information to give them good story's but saying to other people who know of wrong doing and don't know where to leak the information, you can give it to me.
Re:Why did Assange want to move to Sweden? by chrb · 2010-12-27 02:58 · Score: 4, Informative

Sweden has stronger protections for free-speech than his other options for residency. Look at The Pirate Bay - if it were in the U.S. or Russia or UK it would've been taken down long ago. As a resident of Sweden, he may also get the freedom to travel throughout the European Union, which would be useful as it gives him easy access to the 24-hour media of the West. Australian politicians have been signalling that they may want to prosecute him and confiscate his passport, so returning home isn't a wonderful prospect.
Re:"a hornets' nest of revolutionary feminism"??? by ObsessiveMathsFreak · 2010-12-27 03:24 · Score: 4, Funny

If you had kept your dick in your pants, would you be in this situation?
I doubt it. Considering Sweden's current sex laws, if he hadn't put out then he'd probably have been brought up on charges of "sexual fraud" or "failure to deliver".

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May the Maths Be with you!
Re:Why did Assange want to move to Sweden? by TapeCutter · 2010-12-27 03:39 · Score: 5, Informative

The Aussie politicians asked the federal police to see if Assange had broken any laws, they came back with a definite "no". Most of those politicains have now resorted to calling him irresponsible rather than criminal, the foriegn minister has said all along that WL has done nothing wrong by publishing leaks (even though some of those leaks were personally embarrasing to him). So far he has recieved much better treatment by the Aussie government than David Hicks did.

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And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.