Harper advisor calls for assassination of Julian Assange live on CBC news

Yesterday, live on CBC news, Prof. Tom Flanagan (Harper's ex advisor) calls for the assassination of Assange, nothing less.

"I think Assange should be assassinated, actually, I think Obama should put out a contract and maybe use a drone or something."

"I wouldn't be unhappy" if Assange "disappeared."



Maybe he is right, maybe he is not... But i'm wondering, legally, can someone say things like that live on national television? Isn't it a death threat, a criminal offense?

What you guys think?

Assange hasn't been convicted of anything so you can't just go around calling for someones assasination. That should be a terroristic threatening charge, maybe even going so far as saying that advisor is inciting terror himself.

Next it will be commentators on ATS who post links getting drone attacked.
Say there is 32 percent civilian casualty rate in Pakistan from drone attacks
and they are an ally too
so look out.

PS the CBC is our national television network

Hillary was going to run against Obama
this really trashes her chances
and I am sure you are all familliar with the term "arkencide"

That man is as crazy as they come. What kind of person comes up with the idea we should assasinate someone? I may not believe that Assange's motives are pure and seriously wonder if he is an agent of some foreign gov't, but, calling for the assasination, come on, grow up.

I think he is taking the micky, as wikileaks is some sort of psyop.

America could find anyone on earth if they wanted.

I think assange now has any excuse he desires to assassinate any world leader he chooses since the world has become his mortal enemy.

if i was him i would step it up 10 fold and feed the world to the wolves, if hes capable?

This is another example of the direction Canada is heading....

A top adviser would not be allowed to make a statement like this unless he was permitted or told to. He is there to represent the opinion of the Conservative Harper government.

Harper is showing who's back he has.

Corruption and greed overcome freedom and democracy.

Once again Canadian politics is put on the map for outrageous statements that do not reflect the opinion of most Canadians.

Mainstream media is poison, and an effective tool of TPTB

reply to post by aliengenes

I agree 1000%....
if I were assange I would retaliate immediately, release some ufo documents with uncensored pics or video really embarrass the so called world leaders. Since when is releasing the truth a capital offense. If wikileaks were ATS would assasination contracts be put out on all of us? this is beyond ridiculous and that ex harper advisor should be charged with uttering death threats. but I guess having friends in high places gives you Carte blanche when it comes to breaking the law. uttering death threats is against the law last time I checked, especially on national tv. Well if assange is smart he will either hire security or go into hiding either way I would not want to be in his shoes right now.....

Tom Flanagan, a former senior adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, says he regrets his "glib comment" calling for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

"I regret that I made a glib comment about a serious issue," Flanagan said Tuesday in a statement to CBC News. "If Mr. Assange is arrested on the recently announced Interpol warrant, I hope [he] receives a fair trial and due process of law."

Flanagan regrets assassination remark

Looks like the man is trying to take his foot out of his mouth now.

Why can't people just stop and think before spewing such drivel. Someone in his station should know better.

reply to post by gaurdian2012


if i was assange i would set a trap for his assassins and take them out. i would send the world leaders a message that now its their turn

you know a little money goes a long way when you're paying meth heads to take care of a lil business

If someone, wheter a bank, intelligence service or country would do that it would only make him a martyr for the cause. On the long term it would only strenghten the whistleblowers and those who protect them. That's the very reason they are not doing that. Pursuing the character assasination via the rape charges is more logical course to follow.

I think the truth should come out in all of this, when Dwight Eisenhower warned us about the Military–industrial complex in his final speech as President no one did a thing hopefully we have grown as people since then and if anything damaging comes out about Americas secret doings we wont do nothing this time hopefully will rise as a nation and let true justice prevail and protest until something is done and we get good people into office ...


So i think this guy who said Assange should be assassinated should be brought up on chargers because point blank he threatened him, this guys just another person who is in favor of TPTB it's sickening....

reply to post by tribewilder


I'm calling BS on his saying this was "glib". I thought he was joking at first then a minute late he says that he wouldn't mind if Assange disappeared. Again, BS. He meant it. I don't think he can be charged with uttering a death threat, which is a serious charge in Canada, he didn't say HE was going to do it. Just that it should be done. It certainly makes one wonder how far down the poop chute we are going to go under this dictatorship that is the Harper gov't.

reply to post by intrepid


You are so right...

It was no accident.

It was probably "rigged".

I do not doubt CBC would set up their interviews, just like Harper does.

The whole reactions to this whole leak thing from world wide has really sort of tickled me in a sense. Everyone huffing and puffing how wrong it is. Meanwhile I think the truth no matter how ugly is warranted. To me these people are just more or less posturing because they are afraid of the mud and the egg on their face they are going to get caught with.

I mean really, how many of us when we were little and got caught doing wrong, threw a loud fit of denial or blamed it on someone else, when confronted with the truth?

If folks were actually playing the game straight and true we wouldn't be having this problem now would we? All these secrets have carved many years of wounds and damage. Its about time someone lanced it. Of course it is painful, but at least now maybe it will get a chance to heal and that, in the long run will be good for all of us. Thats mho anyway.

Oh yeah, I think a blatent crime was committed asking for a assassination in public. Backtracking doesn't change it. If any of us had done it, we would be consider all kinds of nasty things and put on all kinds of nasty list. He really should be made a example of and have the right laws in place do what they are suppose to do for that crime.. Maybe others would think twice before spouting off like that if they see there will be no tolerances for it.

"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular. "

-Adlai E Stevenson

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I completely agree. It's a shame that the rest of the world sees something like this and gets any kind of impression that those comments represent Canadian global attitudes. This is the Harper government speaking not the Canadian.

I think it should be noted that this guy was probably trying to use black humor in his rant, however the fact that he felt such comments were appropriate shows the backward thinking currently in Canadian power. The cringing of the other pundits hopefully shows the contempt for making a statement that basically says if a journalist releases too much information, they should be punished by death.

Since the G20 in Toronto, I have been very disturbed by the rate at which my government has tried to adopt a very aggressive Americanized style of governing, and how individual rights are beginning to take a back seat to a narrow agenda from a minority government.

Amazon Pulls Plug on WikiLeaks
www.foxnews.com...

I jumped to the end of the thread because, believe it or not I actually have personal experience in the death threat department (on the receiving end, natch).

I did consult with a police officer about it and he told me that uttering a death threat was in his words an "arrestable offense". Flanagan, as I understand it, (haven't watched the video yet) simply gave an opinion that President Obama ought to have Assange assassinated. I don't think that qualifies as a death threat. It would fall under the category of just another asinine statement from a political hack. My two cents worth.

I must say that it is troubling to hear a university professor in this country recommending the assassination of anyone, particularly a journalistic type like Assange and particularly in public.

It makes me wonder if at some time in the recent past Professor Flanagan found himself trapped in a confined area, breathing the same air as Pat Robertson, the American man of God who thinks Hugo Chavez should be assassinated.

well Harper isn't by himself

Joe Lieberman and Mike Huckabee
also want Assange dead.

And since I don't like neither one of them,
I could care less what they have to say.

But this can't be political
as both parties Dems and GOP
want Assange out of the picture
that ought to be a big tip-off
right there that this is not
one party after the other one.