I'll tell you what folks, I have presented nothing in this thread as fact!
Facts aren't the only things that can be questioned or discussed, you know.
What I have done is express an OPINION, which, the last time I heard, I am entitled to do.
You're also entitled to question other members about their opinions, and to challenge them to explain the evidence and reasoning their opinions are based on. That's kind of the whole point of the JREF forums, after all.
What did you expect, that you would post your opinions about this controversy, and everybody else would just say "cool story, bro", and move on? Is that the response you would prefer?
When I present something as a fact, I will back it up with evidence, but when I express an opinion I will not feel any compulsion to back that up.
That's unfortunate; I think that most people who believe they've arrived at a reasonable conclusion are ready and able to back it up when asked about it.
I joined this forum to LEARN; recommended by a couple of users at Apollohoax/Clavius, but it seems that some of you are more interested in dictating, berating and brow-beating than you are in teaching.
I am beginning to regret my decision to join. So be it!
I'm sorry you feel that way. Your friends should have warned you that the JREF forums are a much more rough-and-tumble community than Apollohoax.
Members here will gleefully challenge any opinion they believe is based on faulty reasoning or ignorance of facts. And they very often won't rise to Apollohoax's standard of civility when doing so.
But usually the level of civility depends on the context and content of the debate. When you questioned my opinion regarding people who try to evade extradition, I thought your comments were disingenuous at best, and a gesture of bad faith at worse. Instead of getting all huffy at you for daring to question my opinion, I answered your questions and refuted your insinuations.
I think the static you're getting from some of the other participants in this thread is because so far your opinions seem to be based on faulty reasoning, and on ignorance of the facts and points that have been discussed at length and repeatedly in this thread already. I'm sure you can understand how that would be frustrating to people who have been participating in this thread for a while already.
Also, while you do sometimes present your opinions as questions, they seem to be rhetorical, rather than actually seeking an answer. After all, if you came here to learn, you could do a lot worse than read the thread so far, and
then ask any questions that haven't already been answered.
For example, the question of Assange's offer to be questioned by the Swedish authorities has been addressed several times already. Here's the summary: The Swedes have asserted that at this point in this investigation, it is not practical to question Assange in the UK. Among other things, they have reached the stage where any questioning will most likely be promptly followed by indictment, and for that they need Assange in Sweden. In addition, the Swedish justice system does not serve at the convenience of Julian Assange, and it is unreasonable for him to insist on being questioned in a time and place of his choosing. The reasons given for why he should be afforded this convenience are, quite frankly, implausible; several courts in both Sweden and the UK have found those reasons less than compelling, and so they have ordered and upheld his extradition in accordance with the law.
Now that you have learned this, does it change your opinion at all? Why or why not?
Others here may be willing to point you to some relevant posts on that subject, or even re-post their previous, more detailed contributions. If you have questions about specific details, or if you have any information to contribute, those always help.
Another problem is that your opinions--like the question I just answered above--often seem to echo the conspiracy theory tropes that are common in this thread. For example, your opinions about the treatment of POWs by the US government, etc. are irrelevant to this thread, unless you are advancing a conspiracy theory that links those things to the Swedish rape case against Assange. As I'm sure you know, CT tropes attract prompt ire on Apollohoax. The same is true here at the JREF forums, but with notably less civility.
In short, your opinions are being challenged in this thread because they seem to be weakly reasoned, they echo CT tropes, and they raise points that have already been discussed at length in this thread (which makes it seem like you haven't even bothered to read the thread).
I hope this helps, and that you decide to stick around.
