Ecuador Could Decide On Assenge'S Asylum Request On Thursday

[maidu]

Ms Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both from the Bay area, middle of California near the Pacific coast. Both respected senators, both elected at the same time (1980's?). If you're spooked by intelligent, confident women, you don't want to hang out with them. They're also great for being role models, and building self-esteem among girls growing up in California, and elsewhere in the US.

[Jingthing]

Nope. Barbara Boxer is not nationally popular. Nancy Pelosi is not nationally popular. Both too far left to be nationally popular. Dianne Feinstein, a moderate democrat, IS nationally popular.

[Scott]

Meanwhile, back to Assange and the current asylum request....

[chuckd]

I understand Assange also feels persecuted by another shining example of California politicians, Representative Maxine Waters.

[koheesti]

Hounding Julian Assange

Who Is the Real Criminal?

One of the serious questions raised by the case of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange is just who is a criminal? If an organized crime syndicate commits illegal acts and some outside party reveals its activity, the syndicate might mark the witness for punishment. However, which one is the real criminal?

Lots of governments act like organized crime syndicates. If you ask Rep. King or Sen. Feinstein what they think about the behavior of, say, Russia in Chechnya or China in Tibet, they are likely to describe that behavior as criminal. And, if Assange had just exposed the sins of Russia or China, he would be praised within the halls of Congress.

But what happens when the U.S. government behaves like an organized gang of criminals? After all, a very good case can be made that the leaders of the United States are systematically violating their own Constitution with policies like indefinite detention.

http://consortiumnew...julian-assange/

Please give some specific examples from the leaked diplomatic cable showing the USA behaving like an organized gang of criminals. i haven't seen any. I seriously doubt you have either.

[Exsexyman]

Who Is the Real Criminal?

The guy who skipped bail.

Here is an article from today's Independent newspaper by a very well respected journalist, which gets to the heart of the whole Assagne-Wikileaks saga. I couldn't help thinking that he could have been talking about you and Chuckd when he says, " An extraordinary aspect of the campaign against Assagne is that writers feel free to pump out thousands of words about his alleged faults, with never a mention of far more serious state crimes revealed by Wikileaks." His account of the video film taken by the crew of the Apache helicopter,(which i recommend, if you have the stomach for it), and his account on the ground at the time is, quite frankly chilling, and should be an affront to any right thinking person with an ounce of common decency. It is no surprise that Bradley Manning came to the conclusion that he was not prepared to be a party to the cover up of this sort of disgusting behaviour. And as for the official line that "lives have been put in danger' by the leaks, he debunks that argument too.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/patrick-cockburn-how-julian-assanges-private-life-helped-conceal-the-real-triumph-of-wikileaks-7901737.html?origin

[koheesti]

At the end of the day, Ecuador will not risk bad relations with just about everybody to take in Assange. There is no upside for them, only down.

Things haven't necessarily turned out so well for small countries who follow every beck and call from the US. I just totally disagree with you, but I will agree it could turn out badly. I guess in your mind it is ill-advised for them to even be considering it? I think it shows a lot of wisdom for a small country to be carefully considering this in today's shifting global climate (in terms of power, not temperatures ).

As much as the usual suspects would like it, this isn't Ecuador versus USA. This is Ecuador siding with a private citizen it has no connection with, Assange, while potentially harming relations with the UK, Sweden and the many countries Assange embarrassed with those leaked cables (one of which is the USA). In "today's shifting global climate (in terms of power)" this move would make no sense.

Well then, as I posited, I guess you feel it is ill-advised for them to even considering it then. I disagree.

OK, we disagree. But I still don't see you point how Ecuador is "showing wisdom" in making just about every other country angry? Power shifts between these countries, and hackers on the run from the Swedish police aren't even pawns.

[midas]

Is there a chance that Australia may be able to think for itself and not be the lap dogs of America?

Naw.

sadly no

Julia Gillard hasn't sought assurance from U.S. President Barack Obama that Assange has nothing to fear in facing the Swedish music. This they see as evidence of Australia's seemingly endless toadying to the U.S. Government.

It's not hard to convince Australians that our attitude to the U.S. is reverential.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/03/opinion/australia-assange-attard/index.html

[kerryk]

You would think they could get the Aussies posting on Thai Visa to get a bit more in sync with the government. Do they have a hotline where we could report Aussie's who are not treating Americans reverentially?

[midas]

interesting article written by Icelandic Member of Parliament Birgitta Jónsdóttir.

Iceland's government warns me not to visit the US, which tried to hack my Twitter account: Julian Assange has legitimate fears

the parliamentary immunity Ms Jónsdóttir would have enjoyed under Icelandic law in exercising the political activity which is apparently at stake, is not operational in this case; given that the use of social networks by parliamentarians with their constituents and others is today commonplace in many countries, disclosure orders such as the one in question would undermine and even render void the ability of states to protect their members of parliament from unwarranted interference with their mandates."

http://www.guardian....omment is free)

Edited July 4, 2012 by midas

[Ulysses G.]

Assange can run, but he can't hide.

[chuckd]

interesting article written by Icelandic Member of Parliament Birgitta Jónsdóttir.

Iceland's government warns me not to visit the US, which tried to hack my Twitter account: Julian Assange has legitimate fears

the parliamentary immunity Ms Jónsdóttir would have enjoyed under Icelandic law in exercising the political activity which is apparently at stake, is not operational in this case; given that the use of social networks by parliamentarians with their constituents and others is today commonplace in many countries, disclosure orders such as the one in question would undermine and even render void the ability of states to protect their members of parliament from unwarranted interference with their mandates."

http://www.guardian....omment is free)

You seem not to have noticed this...

"The US Department of Justice (DoJ) tried to hack by legal means into my social media accounts without my knowledge/"

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media, but is a vociferous fan of Assange's ILLEGAL attempts to steal information.

Perhaps she should realize if she plays with fire, she might get burned.

No hypocrisy here that I can see.

[midas]

You seem not to have noticed this...

"The US Department of Justice (DoJ) tried to hack by legal means into my social media accounts without my knowledge/"

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media, but is a vociferous fan of Assange's ILLEGAL attempts to steal information.

Perhaps she should realize if she plays with fire, she might get burned.

No hypocrisy here that I can see.

no one said anything about hypocracy....?

But ......

Most of us who expose an inconvenient truth know that we will be attacked for it and ridiculed. And every trick in the book of maintaining power will be applied to silence us. It's no big deal. The beauty of it is that, usually, these attempts gives us a chance to see the actual face of power and to understand, with real-time examples, how healthy or unhealthy our democracies have become.

[chuckd]

You seem not to have noticed this...

"The US Department of Justice (DoJ) tried to hack by legal means into my social media accounts without my knowledge/"

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media, but is a vociferous fan of Assange's ILLEGAL attempts to steal information.

Perhaps she should realize if she plays with fire, she might get burned.

No hypocrisy here that I can see.

no one said anything about hypocracy....?

But ......

Most of us who expose an inconvenient truth know that we will be attacked for it and ridiculed. And every trick in the book of maintaining power will be applied to silence us. It's no big deal. The beauty of it is that, usually, these attempts gives us a chance to see the actual face of power and to understand, with real-time examples, how healthy or unhealthy our democracies have become.

"no one said anything about hypocracy....?"

Just me, identifying it for what it is.

Edited July 4, 2012 by chuckd

[khaan]

rather disturbing when a member of Parliament from Iceland which is quoted as a " shining example of transparent democracy "

is treated this way just for supporting Julain Assange ?

[midas]

You seem not to have noticed this...

"The US Department of Justice (DoJ) tried to hack by legal means into my social media accounts without my knowledge/"

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media, but is a vociferous fan of Assange's ILLEGAL attempts to steal information.

Perhaps she should realize if she plays with fire, she might get burned.

No hypocrisy here that I can see.

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media

why is it legal for the USA to enter the social media accounts of a member of

parliament in another country ? Is anyone at all off limits ?

[midas]

more and more coverage and questions...............

here a Swedish lawyer is raising some very valid points !

She called for Assange's arrest, issued a European arrest warrant and ordered that he be deported from the UK. Stockholm district court and the Svea court of appeal upheld her request and arrested Assange in absentia.

Neither Assange nor I can understand the motivation. Why couldn't the second police interview be conducted with Assange at liberty? Assange is not a Swedish citizen. He does not reside in Sweden. His work has worldwide impact and he must be able to travel freely to accomplish this. He would happily have presented himself for interrogation and, had the case gone to trial, willingly returned to Sweden to face charges. All this could have been done while he remained at liberty. Had Sweden handled the case in this way, the issue would have been resolved a long time ago.

Instead, Sweden insists on Assange's forcible removal to Sweden. Once there, he will immediately be seized by police and put in jail

The UN committee against torture in 2008 strongly criticised conditions in Sweden's remand prisons, and Swedish courts, for the fact that prison restrictions, such as isolation, are imposed on 42% of detained suspects.

This treatment is degrading. No one should be treated as guilty until proven innocent. There has been no trial, let alone conviction

http://www.guardian....ir-trial-sweden

Edited July 4, 2012 by midas

[chuckd]

rather disturbing when a member of Parliament from Iceland which is quoted as a " shining example of transparent democracy "

is treated this way just for supporting Julain Assange ?

Just another politician. As a rule, they aren't hypocritical?

[chuckd]

You seem not to have noticed this...

"The US Department of Justice (DoJ) tried to hack by legal means into my social media accounts without my knowledge/"

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media, but is a vociferous fan of Assange's ILLEGAL attempts to steal information.

Perhaps she should realize if she plays with fire, she might get burned.

No hypocrisy here that I can see.

Here she is whining about an alleged attempt to LEGALLY get into her social media

why is it legal for the USA to enter the social media accounts of a member of

parliament in another country ? Is anyone at all off limits ?

No!

Social media is the internet gossip column. Whatever you post is out there for the world to see and do with as they wish.

If you don't want anybody digging into your personal life, don't get on these social media accounts. It's really a rather simple choice.

[chuckd]

more and more coverage and questions...............

here a Swedish lawyer is raising some very valid points !

She called for Assange's arrest, issued a European arrest warrant and ordered that he be deported from the UK. Stockholm district court and the Svea court of appeal upheld her request and arrested Assange in absentia.

Neither Assange nor I can understand the motivation. Why couldn't the second police interview be conducted with Assange at liberty? Assange is not a Swedish citizen. He does not reside in Sweden. His work has worldwide impact and he must be able to travel freely to accomplish this. He would happily have presented himself for interrogation and, had the case gone to trial, willingly returned to Sweden to face charges. All this could have been done while he remained at liberty. Had Sweden handled the case in this way, the issue would have been resolved a long time ago.

Instead, Sweden insists on Assange's forcible removal to Sweden. Once there, he will immediately be seized by police and put in jail

The UN committee against torture in 2008 strongly criticised conditions in Sweden's remand prisons, and Swedish courts, for the fact that prison restrictions, such as isolation, are imposed on 42% of detained suspects.

This treatment is degrading. No one should be treated as guilty until proven innocent. There has been no trial, let alone conviction

http://www.guardian....ir-trial-sweden

And these valid points aren't being raised by just some ordinary "Swedish Lawyer", they are being raised by Assange's own personal Swedish defense lawyer.

What else would you expect him to say when it's his job to defend Assange's actions, regardless of how badly thought out those actions are?

[midas]

more and more coverage and questions...............

here a Swedish lawyer is raising some very valid points !

She called for Assange's arrest, issued a European arrest warrant and ordered that he be deported from the UK. Stockholm district court and the Svea court of appeal upheld her request and arrested Assange in absentia.

Neither Assange nor I can understand the motivation. Why couldn't the second police interview be conducted with Assange at liberty? Assange is not a Swedish citizen. He does not reside in Sweden. His work has worldwide impact and he must be able to travel freely to accomplish this. He would happily have presented himself for interrogation and, had the case gone to trial, willingly returned to Sweden to face charges. All this could have been done while he remained at liberty. Had Sweden handled the case in this way, the issue would have been resolved a long time ago.

Instead, Sweden insists on Assange's forcible removal to Sweden. Once there, he will immediately be seized by police and put in jail

The UN committee against torture in 2008 strongly criticised conditions in Sweden's remand prisons, and Swedish courts, for the fact that prison restrictions, such as isolation, are imposed on 42% of detained suspects.

This treatment is degrading. No one should be treated as guilty until proven innocent. There has been no trial, let alone conviction

http://www.guardian....ir-trial-sweden

And these valid points aren't being raised by just some ordinary "Swedish Lawyer", they are being raised by Assange's own personal Swedish defense lawyer.

What else would you expect him to say when it's his job to defend Assange's actions, regardless of how badly thought out those actions are?

But they are still valid points.......

And why doesnt the other side at least provide an answer to these questions ?

It is their silence that has resulted in this state of affairs

Like the lawyer said the interview could have been conducted many months ago................

Edited July 4, 2012 by midas

[chuckd]

And these valid points aren't being raised by just some ordinary "Swedish Lawyer", they are being raised by Assange's own personal Swedish defense lawyer.

What else would you expect him to say when it's his job to defend Assange's actions, regardless of how badly thought out those actions are?

But they are still valid points.......

And why doesnt the other side at least provide an answer to these questions ?

It is their silence that has resulted in this state of affairs

Like the lawyer said the interview could have been conducted many months ago................

This "state of affairs" was caused by the Swedish defense lawyer's client....and no one else.

[Ulysses G.]

The one who jumped bail.

[midas]

And these valid points aren't being raised by just some ordinary "Swedish Lawyer", they are being raised by Assange's own personal Swedish defense lawyer.

What else would you expect him to say when it's his job to defend Assange's actions, regardless of how badly thought out those actions are?

But they are still valid points.......

And why doesnt the other side at least provide an answer to these questions ?

It is their silence that has resulted in this state of affairs

Like the lawyer said the interview could have been conducted many months ago................

This "state of affairs" was caused by the Swedish defense lawyer's client....and no one else.

then why are all these other people being harassed ...?

Were they in on the alleged " sex act " as well ?

US increases harassment of WikiLeaks, Assange associates

http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/07/04/us-increases-harassment-of-wikileaks-assange-associates/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyDaily+%28Crikey+Daily%29

[chuckd]

With proof from that esteemed news site "Crikey", which is also covering another compelling story, "First Dog on the Moon", I will now concede that Assange is just moments away from being swooped down upon and carried off in a bi-plane to an unknown destination where he will be water boarded 144 times in an attempt to set a new record.

Give it a rest.

[Ulysses G.]

With proof from that esteemed news site "Crikey", which is also covering another compelling story, "First Dog on the Moon", I will now concede that Assange is just moments away from being swooped down upon and carried off in a bi-plane to an unknown destination where he will be water boarded 144 times in an attempt to set a new record.

Give it a rest.

Indeed!

[midas]

Many people have become outraged by what they have learned via Wikileaks, not because no other country is doing these things, but because the United States of America is supposed to be better than this, is supposed to be about democracy and justice and freedom. I also do not believe that democracy is strong if it cannot resist being questioned, admit it has made serious errors, prosecute those who have made those errors and stop trying to control to such a degree that liberty is weakened.Colonel Ret. Ann Wright wrote that the wrongdoings exposed by Wikileaks should have been investigated ......not persecute those who exposed them.

http://www.huffingto..._b_1705109.html

Edited July 27, 2012 by midas

[Scott]

Off-topic posts deleted. Stay on topic.

[necronx99]

As an update is in order, for some strange reason his Mum is getting a say....

Ecuador's foreign minister will meet with the mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is holed up at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, Quito has announced.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/ecuador-minister-to-meet-assanges-mum-over-asylum-bid-20120728-231rf.html#ixzz21sX4WWGj

[Credo]

Julian seems to be strangely quiet since he went into the Embassy. Surely they wouldn't try to curtail his activities, would they?