Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange Has Passport Confiscated 197
Taco Cowboy writes "The Australian founder of the whistleblower website Wikileaks had his passport confiscated by police when he arrived in Melbourne last week. While Assange has made himself particularly unpopular with the US military by publishing video of attacks on civilians in Iraq, he's been something of a thorn in the side for the Australian government too. Last year, Wikileaks published a list of websites which were to be banned under the government's proposed Internet filter. While the aim of the filter is to block extreme pornography and the like, the blacklist included a number of more prosaic sites such as those of a travel company and a dentist.
A bit too much sensationalism even for Slashdot (Score:5, Interesting)
The first paragraph of the article said it was returned within 15 minutes and informed that it would be canceled... I presume it would be his passport that would be canceled when he returns, but it doesn't say so. Then the article goes on to say the things cited in the summary.
What I am pointing out is that whoever created the summary didn't just "miss" that 15 minutes later detail, they omitted it intentionally.
So I ask you directly, submitter, what exactly are you trying to make happen by attempting to twist the news this way? Have you no conscience at all about spreading incomplete and therefore misleading information? By intentionally omitting that important detail, it misleads people to believe he is being detained in Australia for all intents and purposes.
Must Have It Rough (Score:4, Interesting)
But in all seriousness, 15 minutes? And he's crying and blowing his whistle? I've been detained longer for having a penny stuck in my shoe.
I wonder if he sleeps with a katana. [xkcd.com]
I'm becoming... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:A bit too much sensationalism even for Slashdot (Score:3, Interesting)
I wish they'd let us mod submitters. Sheesh.
Re:Move along. Nothing to see here (Score:3, Interesting)
The customs agent didn't ask about his criminal record.
The Federal Police Officer did, you know the one who was investigating the leaking of some documents. Bringing up the criminal record of someone you are investigating is pretty damn normal.
The man is clearly a fuckwit who wants to big note himself. Seriously someone looked over his passport because it was showing wear and tear and reminded him it was going to expire soon and that's taking away your passport? A police officer does he job on the same day and that's a huge conspiracy?
Pretty typical for Canada (Score:5, Interesting)
You found a US immigration agent with a sense of humor?
Actually I've found the US immigration and border patrol people you meet in Canada are generally very good and, as long as you do you best to follow the rules, they have all been very helpful. I like to think that being based here means that a little of Canada is rubbing of on them. This is in stark contrast to the ones I used to meeting while living in the US with a green card who frankly seemed to be actively looking for any excuse not to let you enter.
Re:For a Whole Fifteen Minutes (Score:3, Interesting)
First they laugh at your research, then they laugh at your proof, then they credit the wrong person with the discovery.
...and award them a patent...
Re:For a Whole Fifteen Minutes (Score:4, Interesting)
As someone who has a few friends who work on the border patrol I can tell you the last thing they want to do is arrest someone, it is a lot of paperwork, going to court and they don't let you work overtime those weeks you are in court like they used to. What, you did not know that is why cops arrest so many people? The sweet sweet overtime, which can double their salaries has made police unions actually protest when they makes plans to hire more cops and reduce overtime.
It is a growing concern that the more time a cop spends testifying per week the more likely he will get overtime, which is a major problem [google.com], and not just for budget reasons.
Re:For a Whole Fifteen Minutes (Score:3, Interesting)
It's also true that many of those may be "official simulations". When the government is the source of news about what the government's doing, it's quite reasonable to be skeptical. When they don't let anyone else check it just increases the grounds for doubting their honesty.
Re:For a Whole Fifteen Minutes (Score:3, Interesting)
Did everyone suddenly skip over the line where it says it will be cancelled?
Since they had said it was damaged, I took that to mean he needed to go to the post office and get it replaced with a new one. Still not nice, as they cost $200!
Cancelling a passport is like cancelling a lost credit card, not like seizing the account.