Um, I Think It's Time for a Thread on WikiLeaks

wow he really REALLY doesn't want to go to trial

Go to trial!?!? He hasn't even been charged with anything!

well right, and he doesn't even want to do that

I would trust the Swedish government not to stuff me in a sack and ship me to the US if I was him either.

I... guess. has the US even said they want him?

It would surely be just as easy, if not easier, for the US to extradite him from the UK than from Sweden.

yeah I kinda figured if the US wanted him they would have had him by now.

xp I don't think that's true actually.

Certainly Assange and his lawyers don't believe that to be true anyway.

Really? The UK is notorious for extraditing pretty much anyone the US asks for. UK citizens can be extradited to the US for "crimes" committed in the UK that aren't illegal under British law, which isn't reciprocated, and the burden of proof the US has to display to get access to people in Britain is much lower than it is for Britain to get access to people in the US. I don't know how different Sweden is but it really couldn't be that much easier.

It would be interesting to look into their reasoning.

http://wlcentral.org/node/2663

Well this is what his lawyer is saying.

can't imagine the UK would get shirty about handing Assange over to the cousins, even on the flimsiest of pretexts

Yes, it seems to come down to the idea that he has more "public support" to mobilise in the UK, that the UK courts offer more chances to delay proceedings (citing Gary McKinnon) and he can defend himself better in a language he can understand. I'm not sure that really stands up to scrutiny.

I've not seen much evidence of the public support and the delay in the McKinnon case was caused by the suggestion that he has fairly severe learning or personality difficulties.

Well given what's happening to Manning, I feel like it's not totally insane to be slightly paranoid about the motives of the Swedish and United States governments.

yeah but Manning was a US citizen and a member of the military

I'm pretty sure those facts are only tangential to the US response to the leaks.

I mean I'm not entirely convinced that the US wouldn't be just as interested in locking Assange (who is not a US citizen or a member of the military) in a hole somewhere without charge for as long as they see fit.

It's not like we aren't doing exactly that right now with a bunch of other dude's who are supposedly "aiding and abetting terroristas".

No state in the EU could be seen to let that happen, though. I'm as cynical as anyone about the motives of the US government but broadly believe that the Swedish prosecutors are more or less on the level in wanting to talk to him over the other allegations.

Right I'm not saying Assange isn't a little paranoid, but you know given the state of things I'm also not sure that it's not right to be a little paranoid either.

my guess is the US doesn't think he's worth the bother - they scapegoated Manning, Wikileaks is crippled, and it turns out he didn't have any significant dirt anyway so whatever, why expend political capital, dude's fucked.

he might want to entertain the notion that he's just not as important as he thinks he is

all the more reason to drop charges!

pipe dream etc

against Mannning, that is

well at this point the gov't's gone too far in scapegoating Manning to turn back without admitting wrongdoing. so that's not going to happen.

I don't think that's the reason they are not going to drop the charges for one second. Punishing leakers is obv very very important to this government.

well yeah there's that too. make an example of him etc

Revive!

Seems bizarre, if true, that the government would threaten to withdraw the Ecuadorian embassy's accreditation. Unless he's planning to live in the embassy forever, it would make a lot more sense just to wait until he comes out. I'd be surprised if the letter that was supposedly received in Quito was authorised at the top level.

Someone at the Telegraph's best guess:

Diplomatic immunity applies within an embassy's means of transportation, meaning Assange could be transported to the airport safely by an official Ecuadoran car. But British police could intervene legally if he steps foot on the pavement to get from the Embassy to the car, or walks from the car through the airport to a plane. There have even been suggestions that Assange could be transported over these short distances using a diplomatic bag, which are also safe from interference by a home nation.

This has an interesting breakdown of the options, none of which seems particularly feasible:

http://www.headoflegal.com/2012/06/26/julian-assange-can-he-get-out-of-this/

asylum granted

The decision adds to sharp strains between Ecuador and Britain. Just before the announcement of asylum in the Ecuadorean capital, Quito, President Rafael Correa said on his Twitter account: “No one is going to terrorize us!”

it's been real, wikileaks

er, wikileaks twitter

http://london.craigslist.co.uk/m4w/3210618851.html

:(((((

Inexcusable, but crepey guys have been using political protests to try and hook up with women since forever.

Also, to rape people, sometimes.

Chick magnet: http://www.redstate.com/streiff/files/2011/05/strauss-kahn-riding.jpg

does this cunt think he's evita or something

also, assange fanboys are the most pathetic little pieces of shit

yeah that's what most people seem to want to talk about

Compared to Evita fanboys? (don't get me wrong, they both suck - but really, Evita as a standard?)

pretty sure the reason assange chose ecuador as a country to seek asylum with because its embassy had a balcony

yeah that's what most people seem to want to talk about

it's valid

what's vaild? does assange have a lot of idiotic blind loyalists? sure. should he have to stand trial for what he's accused of in sweden? of course, and to my understanding he is willing to do so, so long as he isn't extradited to the US. using his most strident supporters to strawman him is lazy character assassination, a red herring, and intellectually bankrupt imo.

idk i am try not to be reflexively contemptuous towards ppl but i just watched a crowd youtube of this thing today and some bawbag was randomly interjecting 'free pussy riot' and ugh

"intellectually bankrupt" is a funny phrase to whip out right after distancing oneself from the "most strident" supporters

i'm not following dude

If Julian Assange is extradited to the United States, it would have consequences around the world, write Michael Moore and Oliver Stone.

no stan for either of those guys but they're basically right