Assange to face extradition

[Bahnhof Strasse]

And therein lies the issue of why the US might struggle to find an actual "crime" to extradite Assange from Sweden.

Especially as freedom of expression is perhaps more enshrined in US law than any other country's.

 

[cesare]

Missed that. Met laptop a few times. Definitely a searing intellect. Phil would win on bonhomie though. I was cycling down by the river just before the Olympics and I think I went by your old place. Great place to be, down by the river.

I'm still there!

 

[Wilf]

Especially as freedom of expression is perhaps more enshrined in US law than any other country's.

Yep, if they ever got him to Washington, it would be a First Amendment dominated court case.

 

[cesare]

Especially as freedom of expression is perhaps more enshrined in US law than any other country's.

I suppose freedom of expression is far more conditional over here/Europe. And not a constitutional right.

 

[goldenecitrone]

I'm still there!

It was funny, because I don't know the area that well. I'd cycled down to look at the Olympic stadium, no chance, a cauldron of bored looking officials blocking the canal, and then I headed for the river and cycled along the banks, stopping for the sun, and then the memory hit me, I'd been there before, cobbled streets, that little boozer, hazy memories, and then back at the Tower of London. It's always good to hit a memory.

 

[cesare]

It was funny, because I don't know the area that well. I'd cycled down to look at the Olympic stadium, no chance, a cauldron of bored looking officials blocking the canal, and then I headed for the river and cycled along the banks, stopping for the sun, and then the memory hit me, I'd been there before, cobbled streets, that little boozer, hazy memories, and then back at the Tower of London. It's always good to hit a memory.

It's a bit off the beaten path so people tend to forget about it. You should have called in!

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I suppose freedom of expression is far more conditional over here/Europe. And not a constitutional right.

Yep, hence our mad libel laws vs. the almost non-existent ones in the US.

 

[goldenecitrone]

It's a bit off the beaten path so people tend to forget about it. You should have called in!

Organise a meet up. Me, you, butchers, phil, VP, the button, greebo, and other assorted vagrants, down by the Thames.

 

[Greebo]

I am determined to meet VP before I die. Not sure when, Brixton is tinged with a halcyon feeling for me. One day.

Definitely. If nothing else it adds another dimension to who you're talking to, because they are more "real". I'd also very much like to meet VP.<snip>

I'll give you the same reply which 'im indoors instructed me to give before: VP doesn't do public appearances, sorry.

 

[Greebo]

Organise a meet up. Me, you, butchers, phil, VP, the button, greebo, and other assorted vagrants, down by the Thames.

I can tell you right now, barring a very rare miracle indeed, VP won't be there. Take that as read.

 

[goldenecitrone]

I can tell you right now, barring a very rare miracle indeed, VP won't be there. Take that as read.

As James Bond would say, Never say never. But fair dos. I would never force myself on anybody. I'm not fucking Jullian Assange you know.

 

[Greebo]

As James Bond would say, Never say never.

PM sent.

But fair dos. I would never force myself on anybody. I'm not fucking Jullian Assange you know.

Conflate you with the likes of Julian Assange? Never.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I do think the septicks would have been rather more inventive and forthright if they really wanted assange. After all, they hardly beat about the bush with hackers, do they? Seems to me a lot of people want to see monsters under the bed here.

It took them ten years to get bin Laden, but then, in the middle of the night, a SEAL team is landing on his roof.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

I think it's perfectly possible to be the founder of wikileaks and be a rapist. Something that seems a bit difficult for some people to get their heads around for some reason.

I agree that that's possible.

Do you agree that it's possible that he can be the founder of wikileaks, and be framed or otherwise not guilty?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Bradley Manning is the real hero of Wikileaks.

Julian Assange made Bradley Manning's actions possible.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

that he is sleazy in his approach to women seems to be the one thing it's hard to argue against. Can't be bothered searching for the links"

If you're going to throw these accusations out there, why not go ahead and search for the links?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

The US won't want to go for Assange.

I guess you don't follow the US media much.

 

[DexterTCN]

Nonce is any kind of sex offender. hth

But also commonly a paedophile.

 

[Stanley Edwards]

Is anybody allowed to go to the embassy and say "Hi, is Julian at home, can he come out to play?", or do you have to be invited? And, is he paying rent?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

So?

Mi5 have a dossier on me, they're never gonna act on it.

Is your face on a terrorist trading card?

The US vice-president, Joe Biden, today likened the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, to a "hi-tech terrorist", the strongest criticism yet from the Obama administration.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/19/assange-high-tech-terrorist-biden

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

People ok with murdering Assange:

Sarah Palin
Former US Vice Presidential Candidate
Julian Assange should be targeted like the Taliban
http://www.computerworlduk.com/news...et-wikileaks-julian-assange-like-the-taliban/


Thomas Flanagan
former advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper
I think Assange should be assassinated, actually. (laughs) I think Obama should put out a contract or use a drone or something. I wouldn't feel happy, uh, unhappy, if Assange disappeared.
http://freedomradar.com/news/39-wor...ssassination-of-wikileaks-julian-assange.html
Bob Beckel
FOX News commentator
A dead man can't leak stuff...This guy's a traitor, he's treasonous, and he has broken every law of the United States. And I'm not for the death penalty, so...there's only one way to do it: illegally shoot the son of a bitch.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/fox-news-bob-beckel-calls_n_793467.html


Eric Bolling
FOX News commentator
[Assange] should be underground -- six feet underground. ... He should be put in jail or worse, hanged in a public forum.



Todd Schnitt
Radio Host
ASSANGE IS A TERRORIST, AN ENEMY COMBATANT, AND NEEDS TO BE TREATED AS SUCH, SCHNITT HAS SAID REPEATEDLY ON HIS PROGRAM WHICH AIRS WEEKDAYS FROM 3:00pm-6:00pm EST.
http://www.schnittshow.com/pages/reward.html


Jeffrey Kuhner
Washington Times columnist
Headline: Assassinate Assange? Body: Julian Assange poses a clear and present danger to American national security ... The administration must take care of the problem - effectively and permanently.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/dec/2/assassinate-assange/


John Hawkins
Far-right blogger
Julian Assange is not an American citizen and he has no constitutional rights. So, there's no reason that the CIA can't kill him. Moreover, ask yourself a simple question: If Julian Assange is shot in the head tomorrow or if his car is blown up when he turns the key, what message do you think that would send about releasing sensitive American data?
http://townhall.com/columnists/John...uld_have_already_killed_julian_assange/page/2


Ralph Peters
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and author
Julian Assange is a cyber terrorist in wartime, he's guilty of sabotage, espionage, crimes against humanity -- he should be killed, but we won't do that.
http://rightwingnews.com/2010/07/the-cia-should-kill-julian-assange/


Ralph Peters
U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and author
I do not believe in leaks. I would execute leakers. They're betraying our country.
http://www.examiner.com/american-po...declares-that-julian-assange-should-be-killed


Steve Gill
Right-wing Nashville radio host
Folks like Julian Assange should be targeted as terrorists. They should be captured and kept in Guantanamo Bay, or killed.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/pitw/archives/2010/11/30/steve-gill-kill-wikileaks-founder


Rush Limbaugh
Right-wing radio talk show host
Back in the old days when men were men and countries were countries, this guy would die of lead poisoning from a bullet in the brain.
http://www.theodoresworld.net/archives/2010/11/rush_limbaugh_on_wikileaks_fou.html


William Kristol
Editor of the Weekly Standard
Why can't we act forcefully against WikiLeaks? Why can't we use our various assets to harass, snatch or neutralize Julian Assange and his collaborators, wherever they are?
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/whack-wikileaks_520462.html


G. Gordon Liddy
Former White House Adviser, talk show host
This fellow Anwar al-Awlaki - a joint U.S. citizen hiding out in Yemen - is on a 'kill list' [for inciting terrorism against the U.S.]. Mr. Assange should be put on the same list.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=234905


Deroy Murdock
Columnist for National Review
If convicted, [Bradley Manning] should be placed against a wall and executed by firing squad. (If extradited here, Assange deserves the same sendoff.)
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/255483/wikileaks-what-ifs-deroy-murdock


Johan Goldberg
Editor-at-large of National Review Online
I'd like to ask a simple question: Why isn't Julian Assange dead? ...Why wasn't Assange garroted in his hotel room years ago? It's a serious question.
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/251393/all-quiet-black-ops-front-jonah-goldberg


Donald Douglas
Blogger, Right Wing News
I won't think twice if Julian Assange meets the cold blade of an assassin, and apparently a significant number of others don't care for the guy.
http://rightwingnews.com/author/donald-douglas/


Paul Holmes
New Zealand Herald Columnist
I suppose they'll kill him, [Assange]. I would if I were them.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10693684


Mike Huckabee
Former Governor of Arkansas and FOX News talk show host
Whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty.
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/mike-huckabee-calls-for-execution-of-julian-assange/


The CIA
You Know Who They Are
"If legal attacks on Assange fail, he'll simply be assassinated by the CIA." -Paul Craig Roberts



Jason Lancaster
President of Spork Marketing
Assange is not a political figure... He represents a danger to the USA and he should be killed ASAP.
http://jasonlancaster.com/34/usa-assassinate-wikileaks-founder/

http://www.peopleokwithmurderingassange.com/the_list.html

 

[Wilf]

If you're going to throw these accusations out there, why not go ahead and search for the links?

If you'd have looked a little more closely, you'd have seen one woman's account of his sleaze - in the actual post you quoted.

 

[Wilf]

I guess you don't follow the US media much.

And you need to distinguish between the hot air in the media and realpolitik. Your list of quotes from Sarah Palin, fox new commentators and Watergate conspirators wasn't a good start down that road.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

If you'd have looked a little more closely, you'd have seen one woman's account of his sleaze - in the actual post you quoted.

Ok: one woman thought he was sleazy. What did you draw from that?

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

And you need to distinguish between the hot air in the media and realpolitik. Your list of quotes from Sarah Palin, fox new commentators and Watergate conspirators wasn't a good start down that road.

You left out the quote from the Vice President.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

An interesting commentary:

We are Women Against Rape but we do not want Julian Assange extradited

For decades we have campaigned to get rapists caught, charged and convicted. But the pursuit of Assange is political

Whether or not Assange is guilty of sexual violence, we do not believe that is why he is being pursued. Once again women's fury and frustration at the prevalence of rape and other violence, is being used by politicians to advance their own purposes. The authorities care so little about violence against women that they manipulate rape allegations at will, usually to increase their powers, this time to facilitate Assange's extradition or even rendition to the US. That the US has not presented a demand for his extradition at this stage is no guarantee that they won't do so once he is in Sweden, and that he will not be tortured as Bradley Manning and many others, women and men, have. Women Against Rape cannot ignore this threat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/women-against-rape-julian-assange

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

In over 30 years working with thousands of rape victims who are seeking asylum from rape and other forms of torture, we have met nothing but obstruction from British governments. Time after time, they have accused women of lying and deported them with no concern for their safety. We are currently working with three women who were raped again after having been deported – one of them is now destitute, struggling to survive with the child she conceived from the rape; the other managed to return to Britain and won the right to stay, and one of them won compensation.

Assange has made it clear for months that he is available for questioning by the Swedish authorities, in Britain or via Skype. Why are they refusing this essential step to their investigation? What are they afraid of?

-same article

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

In 1998 Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested in London following an extradition request from Spain. His responsibility for the murder and disappearance of at least 3,000 people, and the torture of 30,000 people, including the rape and sexual abuse of more than 3,000 women often with the use of dogs, was never in doubt. Despite a lengthy legal action and a daily picket outside parliament called by Chilean refugees, including women who had been tortured under Pinochet, the British government reneged on its obligation to Spain's criminal justice system and Pinochet was allowed to return to Chile. Assange has not even been charged; yet the determination to have him extradited is much greater than ever it was with Pinochet. (Baltasar Garzón, whose request for extradition of Pinochet was denied, is representing Assange.) And there is a history of Sweden (and Britain) rendering asylum seekers at risk of torture at the behest of the US.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Like women in Sweden and everywhere, we want rapists caught, charged and convicted. We have campaigned for that for more than 35 years, with limited success. We are even having to campaign to prevent rape victims being accused of making false allegations and imprisoned for it. Two women who reported visibly violent attacks by strangers were given two and three year prison sentences.

But does anyone really believe that extraditing Julian Assange will strengthen women against rape? And do those supporting his extradition to Sweden care if he is then extradited to the US and tortured for telling the public what we need to know about those who govern us?

 

[JimW]

You left out the quote from the Vice President.

You left out the loaded question from the reporter that set up some either/or "is he more a hi-tech terrorist or some Daniel Ellis (? can't recall name, reporter type or whistle-blower)" to which Biden gives an I suppose more the terrorist response. Not exactly as portrayed.