Ecuador President Says No Decision Made On Assange Asylum Request

[Scott]

Much of the information released was not a threat to US national security. Some of it could be, but that is something that would have to be substantiated. A lot of people were left scrambling to cover their back sides, but that's about it.

[softgeorge]

I am curious which Ministry in Australia contacted which Department in the US. If it was a politician, then an answer would not likely be forthcoming.

A non-response would likely mean that no decision had been made.

There are 250,000 documents to go through. Most of those amount to nothing worthy of an international arrest warrant. The ones seen as being the most damaging, are little more than embarrassment. Any substantial documents that did serious damage to US citizens would require substantiation. Has anybody been killed because of the leaks? Have any US citizens or employees been incarcerated unfairly because of the leaks? Was there any effort to give information to the enemy or was it a matter of simply making information available to everyone, including the US gov't that could then act to protect its interests.

It was apparently the Australian Ambassador Kym Beazley who was directed by the Prime Ministers Office via the Department of Foreign Affairs. Apparently the requests have been ignored by the relevent department/s in the U.S still no reply at all not even a We will look into it and get back to you..

[softgeorge]

Assange reports to remain secret

August 19, 2012 Date

In a freedom of information decision, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to The Sunday Age the existence of at least two intelligence reports on WikiLeaks and Assange from Australia's embassy to the US in February and March this year. The Washington embassy cables, one running to 10 pages, have been withheld from release because they are "intelligence agency documents".

Yesterday, The Saturday Age reported that Australia's ambassador to the US, former Labor leader Kim Beazley, had made high-level representations seeking advance warning of any US moves to extradite Assange

Illustration: Matt Golding

JULIAN Assange continues to be the subject

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/assange-reports-to-remain-secret-20120818-24fez.html#ixzz23uQp7Ui4

[JanKlaasen]

I am curious which Ministry in Australia contacted which Department in the US. If it was a politician, then an answer would not likely be forthcoming.

A non-response would likely mean that no decision had been made.

There are 250,000 documents to go through. Most of those amount to nothing worthy of an international arrest warrant. The ones seen as being the most damaging, are little more than embarrassment. Any substantial documents that did serious damage to US citizens would require substantiation. Has anybody been killed because of the leaks? Have any US citizens or employees been incarcerated unfairly because of the leaks? Was there any effort to give information to the enemy or was it a matter of simply making information available to everyone, including the US gov't that could then act to protect its interests.

I haven't read the cables, but I believe you in your comments, so in fact it is all about nothing.Then what are certain posters crying murder about, can't be they have an agenda is it.

[JanKlaasen]

I am curious which Ministry in Australia contacted which Department in the US. If it was a politician, then an answer would not likely be forthcoming.

A non-response would likely mean that no decision had been made.

There are 250,000 documents to go through. Most of those amount to nothing worthy of an international arrest warrant. The ones seen as being the most damaging, are little more than embarrassment. Any substantial documents that did serious damage to US citizens would require substantiation. Has anybody been killed because of the leaks? Have any US citizens or employees been incarcerated unfairly because of the leaks? Was there any effort to give information to the enemy or was it a matter of simply making information available to everyone, including the US gov't that could then act to protect its interests.

And real damaging documents about killing people: No matter what damage is done, such things should be investigated not made top secret. The people who are doing the crime are the bad guys not these who make it known.

The documents about Thailand were for sure damaging.....

It weren't lies,were they?I for one can only hope that there will be somebody who extends Assagnes work and releases some more cables that do real damage to the gangsters on wall street.

And a second hope I have is that one day there will be an organistaion that will apply an appropriate judgement to the people revealed in those cables.

[Credo]

I don't think the cables deal with Wall Street.

[JanKlaasen]

I don't think the cables deal with Wall Street.

Not the cables relaesed till date, but there is a lot of information hidden in secret documents somewhere.Just think about what has surfaced only in the past weeks about Standard Chattered and the Barclays bank Libor scandal where the federal reserve was in the deal.This has only been the tip of the iceberg yet.

[koheesti]

and all this continual media coverage and the forthcoming movie is positive because it should at least give the public a better insight into the US powerbrokers mindset

It's thinking like this that is going to get Assange killed. You don't want the "evil empire" believing that the rest of the world thinks they might be getting soft by letting this guy slide. It's getting to the point where they will be left with no choice but to make an example out of him. On the plus side, Sean Penn is a helluva an actor and if he wins the role to play Assange then that is something that Assange's family can take great pride in after he's gone.

[koheesti]

Why should The USA help out this guy in any way? He put a lot of people all over the world in danger. He is accused of sex crimes and he jumped bail to avoid being questioned about it. Why tell him anything that might give him any peace of mind? He is stuck in a tiny, windowless room, on a blow-up mattress eating cold English take-out food. Leave him in limbo. He is getting just what he deserves.

isn't it customary to call it "regrettable collateral damage" when people are put in danger, maimed or killed for a "just cause"?

because he exposed the murder of 12 innocent Iraqi civilians and two Reuters reporters by the USA government

and I think there are very many people around the world that want to know about such criminal activities

It sucks to be a human shield in a war zone. But, yeah, I see your point. Since he made that public he has the right to rape anybody he wants.

Edited August 18, 2012 by koheesti

[koheesti]

Yesterday, The Saturday Age reported that Australia's ambassador to the US, former Labor leader Kim Beazley, had made high-level representations seeking advance warning of any US moves to extradite Assange

That'll have the CIA shaking in their boots!

[meand]

Some of you guys are just spoon fed your info, seriously, I always wonder how people make it through life like that.

[Naam]

Why should The USA help out this guy in any way? He put a lot of people all over the world in danger. He is accused of sex crimes and he jumped bail to avoid being questioned about it. Why tell him anything that might give him any peace of mind? He is stuck in a tiny, windowless room, on a blow-up mattress eating cold English take-out food. Leave him in limbo. He is getting just what he deserves.

isn't it customary to call it "regrettable collateral damage" when people are put in danger, maimed or killed for a "just cause"?

because he exposed the murder of 12 innocent Iraqi civilians and two Reuters reporters by the USA government

and I think there are very many people around the world that want to know about such criminal activities

It sucks to be a human shield in a war zone. But, yeah, I see your point. Since he made that public he has the right to rape anybody he wants.

"human shield"... pretty puleeze Koheesti!

[Naam]

Some of you guys are just spoon fed your info, seriously, I always wonder how people make it through life like that.

by selling the spoons.

[Ulysses G.]

The facts have already been posted many times. Go back and review this thread from the beginning..

[softgeorge]

The facts have already been posted many times. Go back and review this thread from the beginning..

Yes they have been stated many times. He gained asylum because he was going to be persecuted by the U.S and facing the death penalty. Facts as stated by the Ecuadorian Government after an investigation into his asylum application. Enough facts to support that application. Done and dusted.

[Ulysses G.]

Those are not "facts" in any way - as has been pointed out repeatedly. Conspiracy theories with no evidence to support them are not facts.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[softgeorge]

Those are not "facts" in any way - as has been pointed out repeatedly. Conspiracy theories with no evidence to support them are not facts.

Fact - The Ecuadorian Government granted asylum because they held grave fears for him at the hands of the U.S. Fact The Australian Government has requested that the U.S advise them prior to making thier move on Julian. They are not conspiracy theories they are FACTS.

[Ulysses G.]

Fact - The Swedish government wants to question Assange for sex charges and he was arrested by the British government and violated his bond. He is a wanted criminal. Those are FACTS.

Edited August 19, 2012 by Ulysses G.

[softgeorge]

Australia 'preparing' for Assange extradition to US

By AFP | AFP – 23 hours ago

Australia confirmed Saturday that its diplomatic post in Washington had been preparing for Julian Assange's possible extradition to the US but played it down as "contingency planning".

Trade Minister Craig Emerson said the Australian embassy in Washington had been "getting prepared for the possibility of an extradition" but stressed that there was nothing unusual in diplomats bracing for all eventualities.

"The embassy is doing its job, just to be in a position to advise the government if it believed that an extradition effort was imminent.

http://my.news.yahoo...-084522706.html

Edited August 19, 2012 by softgeorge

[ozziebloke]

It is reasonably pretty good in the embassy which is exactly where he will be spending many years if Equador decides to hide him from facing jusice.

He still won't be able to go outside the grounds, but at least the Americans can't execute him and that is what he was seeking asylum on. The persecution he was facing from the U.S.

The US can more easily execute him if he is in Ecuador than if he is in the European Union and that is what Assange "claims" he is worried about. It just proves that Assange is a liar about his fears. When he goes to Ecuador and winds up dead with a year, I hope his supporters don't start crying around here since you guys wanted him there.

I think there is a huge difference to being on death row in a U.S prison and being assasinated. I do not think that the U.S would stoop that low as to assasinate the guy. If that was to happen the eyes of the world would automatically turn to the U.S.

Just curious ? Where is it said that he has been charged by the American authorities and where has it been reported he is facing the death penality? The Americans could have applied to the United Kingdom for him to be extradited but there were no such requests. I for one feel he is using these so called theories to avoid going to Sweden to face the aligations against him

[Scott]

Off-topic posts have been deleted. We are not going to rehash very old news and discussions that were covered in previous threads.

[softgeorge]

Fact - The Swedish government wants to question Assange for sex charges and he was arrested by the British government and violated his bond. He is a wanted criminal. Those are FACTS.

Fact - to be a criminal you have to be convicted of a crime.

Fact - This topic is about his asylum to protect him from the U.S and not about Sweden or England

Edited August 19, 2012 by softgeorge

[Ulysses G.]

Just curious ? Where is it said that he has been charged by the American authorities and where has it been reported he is facing the death penality? The Americans could have applied to the United Kingdom for him to be extradited but there were no such requests. I for one feel he is using these so called theories to avoid going to Sweden to face the aligations against him

Exactly. The US is a lot closer to the UK than Sweden, but that is something that the conspiracy types prefer to ignore.

[Scott]

Fact - The Ecuadorian Government granted asylum because they held grave fears for him at the hands of the U.S. Fact The Australian Government has requested that the U.S advise them prior to making thier move on Julian. They are not conspiracy theories they are FACTS.

There are two parts to an asylum claim. An objective part, which usually consists of the facts and known conditions that an asylum seeker faces. The second is a subjective part, which consists of scenarios which cannot be verified but are possible and probable in the eyes of the person doing the screening.

Ecuador did not adhere to UN standards in conducting the screening, which it is not required to, but they probably considered both. Much of his claim is subjective.

[simple1]

Just curious ? Where is it said that he has been charged by the American authorities and where has it been reported he is facing the death penality? The Americans could have applied to the United Kingdom for him to be extradited but there were no such requests. I for one feel he is using these so called theories to avoid going to Sweden to face the aligations against him

Exactly. The US is a lot closer to the UK than Sweden, but that is something that the conspiracy types prefer to ignore.

Agree. If the US government is allegedly so interested in extraditing Assange, why they did not make an application to HMG. Before someone pops up & say HMG will not extradite to a country with the death penalty, HMG could easily receive assurances that he would not face capital punishment if convicted of offenses.

[midas]

Just curious ? Where is it said that he has been charged by the American authorities and where has it been reported he is facing the death penality? The Americans could have applied to the United Kingdom for him to be extradited but there were no such requests. I for one feel he is using these so called theories to avoid going to Sweden to face the aligations against him

Exactly. The US is a lot closer to the UK than Sweden, but that is something that the conspiracy types prefer to ignore.

Agree. If the US government is allegedly so interested in extraditing Assange, why they did not make an application to HMG. Before someone pops up & say HMG will not extradite to a country with the death penalty, HMG could easily receive assurances that he would not face capital punishment if convicted of offenses.

nothing to do with that. It's all explained in the four Corners documentary posted yesterday.

it is simply because there is a unique supplement to the extradition treaty in Sweden

which allows him to be transferred to America rather like being loaned out by Sweden.

if he were to be formally extradited from the UK it would be strictly by the book

whereas the supplement to the Swedish treaty is quite the opposite.

in fact I don't think there is any such provision in any other extradition treaty anywhere.

This escapes all the usual formalities of extradition and there is no timeline for which

he would have to be returned to Sweden.

Edited August 19, 2012 by midas

[ozziebloke]

Just curious ? Where is it said that he has been charged by the American authorities and where has it been reported he is facing the death penality? The Americans could have applied to the United Kingdom for him to be extradited but there were no such requests. I for one feel he is using these so called theories to avoid going to Sweden to face the aligations against him

Exactly. The US is a lot closer to the UK than Sweden, but that is something that the conspiracy types prefer to ignore.

Agree. If the US government is allegedly so interested in extraditing Assange, why they did not make an application to HMG. Before someone pops up & say HMG will not extradite to a country with the death penalty, HMG could easily receive assurances that he would not face capital punishment if convicted of offenses.

nothing to do with that. It's all explained in the four Corners documentary posted yesterday.

it is simply because there is a unique supplement to the extradition treaty in Sweden

which allows him to be transferred to America rather like being loaned out by Sweden.

if he were to be formally extradited from the UK it would be strictly by the book

whereas the supplement to the Swedish treaty is quite the opposite.

in fact I don't think there is any such provision in any other extradition treaty anywhere.

This escapes all the usual formalities of extradition and there is no timeline for which

he would have to be returned to Sweden.

I cant see the advantage for the USA to try in any manner to get him there? it will only look like revenge! I think Assange has lost a lot of credibility already and that is just as good for the USA

[midas]

Exactly. The US is a lot closer to the UK than Sweden, but that is something that the conspiracy types prefer to ignore.

Agree. If the US government is allegedly so interested in extraditing Assange, why they did not make an application to HMG. Before someone pops up & say HMG will not extradite to a country with the death penalty, HMG could easily receive assurances that he would not face capital punishment if convicted of offenses.

nothing to do with that. It's all explained in the four Corners documentary posted yesterday.

it is simply because there is a unique supplement to the extradition treaty in Sweden

which allows him to be transferred to America rather like being loaned out by Sweden.

if he were to be formally extradited from the UK it would be strictly by the book

whereas the supplement to the Swedish treaty is quite the opposite.

in fact I don't think there is any such provision in any other extradition treaty anywhere.

This escapes all the usual formalities of extradition and there is no timeline for which

he would have to be returned to Sweden.

I cant see the advantage for the USA to try in any manner to get him there? it will only look like revenge! I think Assange has lost a lot of credibility already and that is just as good for the USA

So in that case why do you think they are treating Bradley Manning the way they are?

of course it's revenge!

at the end of the day if you and many others that think like you do are correct

all Sweden has to do is give an assurance he will not be passed on to USA?

What is so difficult about giving that? And if they don't he would have to be a fool

to give Sweden any benefit of the doubt particularly based on all the shenanigans surrounding

the arrest warrant procedure after he returned to the UK again which the four Corners documentary

highlighted.

Edited August 19, 2012 by midas

[chuckd]

So in that case why do you think they are treating Bradley Manning the way they are?

of course it's revenge!

Midas:

I'm going to take a great leap here and assume you have never served in the US Military. If you had you would know you give up virtually all your civil rights when you are sworn in and do not really regain them until you are discharged and no longer on active duty.

While you are serving the country you are under the UCMJ (Universal Code of Military Justice). It is entirely separate and apart from the normal US justice system with different legal rules.

Please educate yourself about the UCMJ and quit beating your chest about Manning. He is being treated no better or worse than any military personnel would be that might be suspected of his alleged crimes.

He will face a military courts martial and not a civilian court and will face a federal prison if convicted.

[midas]

So in that case why do you think they are treating Bradley Manning the way they are?

of course it's revenge!

Midas:

I'm going to take a great leap here and assume you have never served in the US Military. If you had you would know you give up virtually all your civil rights when you are sworn in and do not really regain them until you are discharged and no longer on active duty.

While you are serving the country you are under the UCMJ (Universal Code of Military Justice). It is entirely separate and apart from the normal US justice system with different legal rules.

Please educate yourself about the UCMJ and quit beating your chest about Manning. He is being treated no better or worse than any military personnel would be that might be suspected of his alleged crimes.

He will face a military courts martial and not a civilian court and will face a federal prison if convicted.

I am not disputing that one bit but equally if you don't believe they also want to give Assange

the same treatment under the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act 2012

you would have to be extremely naive?