Agree on the EFF part but what did the "political machine" do in this case? I thought it was more of the media reporting making Assange look like the dick he actually is. Would be nice to have Wikileaks without him.
Sooo.. you've hung out with Assange?
edit: My point is, the fact that you feel comfortable calling him actually a dick despite only knowing him through media portrayal means that the character assassination has worked.
Just about everyone who has ever worked with him has come to the same conclusion, including many people who have entirely overlapping ideologies. See Emma Best's Twitter account for a prime example.
Right, good point. Almost everyone will only know Assange through media portrayal so if you run something like Wikileaks, which relies on reputation to remain relevant, it's important to have a leader that knows how stay out of the spotlight. It's difficult in such a polarized arena.
