Assange.

Coincidence of just my overactive mind ?

“Colombia’s state oil company Ecopetrol said the attack had forced it to stop pumping oil through the 300km (185-mile) pipeline leading from neighbouring Ecuador to the port city of Tumaco.

Ecuador Oil Pipeline Destroyed

I can’t see any reason why there would be a connection between a oil pipe attack in Colombia and Assange.

Seems Helen Mirren and and Anne Widdecombe seem to be of the opinion that the alleged rape victim was not really in a position to complain afterwards. Not at all surprised by the latter.

Independent feature

EDIT; oops forgot link! Doh.

Perhaps we just support a whistle blower, think he should face trial in Sweden FREE FROM THE THREAT OF ENDING UP IN THE US – where his chance of getting a fair trial is nil as we all know if he went there he will go to jail.

I don’t support him particularly, but this^^^^ is what needs to happen.
I don’t doubt they’ll get him though. The bullies will just lean on whoever they need to.

Helen Mirren took the approach a few years ago that she was date raped several times and it’s not all that bad. Speaks more about her and her personal choices in men than the issue in hand.

mcboo – Member
The legal correspondent of the New Statesman nails this. “zombie facts” indeed.

http://t.co/pus48YNR

For Lifer and friends on the far left fringes the world will however always be flat.

Which of these ‘zombie facts’ have I been making ‘confident assertions’ about then?

Lifer – Member
Why didn’t the Swedish take up the Ecudorian’s invitation to interview him in their embassy?

POSTED 4 DAYS AGO # REPORT-POST

+1 to above ❓

from the response on a Newstateman article

While you do address some points, it seems you can’t see the forest for the trees.

1-What’s your position on the Interpol red notice? Is this normal?
(Khadafi had an orange notice, Assad none)

2-What’s your take on the 65000 Euros a day surveillance around the (Ecuadorian) embassy? Is this normal in such a case?

3-What’s your position on Hague’s move to revoke the Ecuadorian embassy’s status?
Is this due process? An international row for a man wanted for sexual misconduct? Seriously?

The three points submitted above are UNPRECEDENTED.
Care to comment?

mcboo – Member

“Lifer – Member
Why didn’t the Swedish take up the Ecudorian’s invitation to interview him in their embassy?”

POSTED 4 DAYS AGO # REPORT-POST

You mean the same question asked by the former prosecutor? I would bet he has a better knowledge of Swedish law than that Jack of Kent bloke seeing as he actually studied, qualified, practised and is now teaching Swedish law in Sweden.

A reminder in case you missed it.

klunk – read the replies further to get your answers. None of these (except potentially the last one) are unprecedented, particularly the first one as there were over 7600 red notices issued in 2011 and that’s hardly a trivial number.

From 1cm further down the screen from the response on a Newstateman article

Dear “BeYourOwnReason”

1) I Googled ‘Interpol Red Notice’. They gave out roughly 7,000 of them last year alone, so I wouldn’t say they were UNPRECEDENTED so much as boringly routine.

2) Is this normal in such a case? What other cases of a celebrity with a warrant out for their arrest hiding in an embassy in London would you like David to compare it to?

3) Has William Hague moved to revoke the embassy’s status? When did that happen then? Also, when you say “sexual misconduct”, is that a euphemism for “rape?”

I lost sympathy for the guy once he changed his name and stopped playing cricket/commentating on sky etc. Those left handed square cuts were a joy to watch ( even if he did give away the odd sloppy wicket to go flying). And the fielding partnership with Randall on the other side of the square inspired me for years. Why give that up for all this nonsense? And where did the faux Aussie accent come from? 😉

If the man had an ounce of charisma he’d have started a cult and had followers only to willing to share him with others.

LONDON—Following Thursday’s announcement that Ecuador will grant him political asylum, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange told reporters that not even he is totally sure what his legal situation is right now. “So wait, what exactly is my current status, and which countries can I go to?” asked Assange, adding that he is also “pretty hazy” on the outstanding criminal charge, or charges, against him at this point. “I think I’m wanted for questioning in Sweden, but if I go there they can apparently extradite me to the United States or something? And I guess I’m allowed to go to Ecuador, of all places, but then I also can’t for some reason? I honestly don’t know anymore.” At press time, Assange told reporters the only thing he is completely certain of is that he has a website

From The Onion

Even Respect activists think Galloway is wrong and Assange should face the Swedish court.

http://t.co/NhbKGlMQ

wow you googled and found some more stuff you agreed with GO YOU
Actually I have just read it was that really the best you could do 😳

This turn of events may well act to undermine Assange’s defence against those powerful forces keen to make an example of him for exposing the crimes of Empire.

Again i dont think anyone is saying he should not go to Sweden just that he should not end up in the US as a result of going to Sweden. It is not that hard to comprehend this point tbh.

For the last few days I have been in Liverpool supporting my sister-in-law through a difficult labour which finally ended with an emergency Caesarian Section procedure. The good news is that in the early hours of the morning a healthy and beautiful 8lb baby boy was born! I am very happy to report that mother and son are doing fine.

The bad news is that I have emerged from that world into a heated controversy around Julian Assange which is conflating issues around freedom of speech with debates about what constitutes violence against women.
Let me be clear, as a politician and as a woman. Rape occurs when a woman has not consented to sex. George Galloway’s comments on what constitutes rape are deeply disappointing and wrong.

There are many political issues entwined in the case of Julian Assange. These issues cannot be used to diminish in any way the seriousness of any allegations against him. Any individual accused of a crime, sexual or otherwise, is innocent until proven guilty. By the same token, any individual who believes themselves to be a victim has a right to have their grievances heard in a fair manner and not have their allegations belittled or dismissed. This is the cornerstone of justice.

This turn of events may well act to undermine Assange’s defence against those powerful forces keen to make an example of him for exposing the crimes of Empire. It has certainly taken the debate around violence against women a step backwards.

😆

Why don’t the Police just play knock & run. & grab him when he comes out…

@Z11 – brilliant, am assuming that’s the “winter 2012” way we will be wearing our scarves? Just wait to have the ‘Assange’ confirmed by GQ next issue.

But back on topic – Ecuador’s President confirmed he can stay indefinitely within the embassy, they really do want to piss off the US.

For what it is worth, here are my thoughts

1. He should not have been given refugee status, it make a mockery out of the system and the decision has completely ignored the fact that refugee status should not be given a to person accused of a violent crime in the country from which they are running.

2. The basis for the charges in Sweden are seriously ropey. I hadn’t realised just how weak the prosecution case was until I read into it further. He should still have his time in court though.

3. If America was so hell bent on extraditing him, why have they not raised any charges against him or requested extradition from the UK? My understanding is that he would be more easily extradited from here because of our one sided, timid approach to extradition to the US. This just leads me to think that he is using this (so far, non existent threat) as a way of avoiding Swedish Courts.

4. I don’t agree with the mass release of data that Wiki Leaks was responsible for. But, within those leaks, there were stories of global importance including US collusion with death squads in Iraq and illegal spying on UN officials.

My view is that the alleged crimes in Sweden need to be separated out from the Wiki leaks issue. Using one as a smokescreen for the other doesn’t seem right to me.

But back on topic – Ecuador’s President confirmed he can stay indefinitely within the embassy, they really do want to piss off the US.

😀
Some American official will be FUMING 😀

My view is that the alleged crimes in Sweden need to be separated out from the Wiki leaks issue. Using one as a smokescreen for the other doesn’t seem right to me.

This.

The trouble is until the US give assurances that they’re not interested in him (which they won’t), the current stalemate is likely to continue

Assange to be tempted from embassy with trail of secrets.

Daily Mash delivers an amusing piece: Clickety