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Assange Requests Asylum In Ecuador
david.emery writes "Julian Assange, his appeals in the United Kingdom having run out, today went to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to request asylum from his pending extradition to Sweden to face questioning for 'unlawful coercion and sexual misconduct including rape.'"
Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa is a friend of Venezuela and Cuba--and NO FRIEND of the U.S.
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
... be careful what he wishes for.
the cops can't touch the embassy or their cars but once he steps out in the airport he is fair game
Assange is scheduled to be extradited to Sweden for a violent crime. This has nothing to do with the USA, or WikiLeaks.
How many countries have denied him asylum so far?
If by one side I hope Assange gets it (as, in fact, he is being unlawfully persecuted by US government), on the other side it will be a big shame for everybody else that just a half baked democracy on a third-world country (hey, I live on one of these, I know what I'm talking) has the guts to stand up against tiranny.
Lisias@Earth.SolarSystem.OrionArm.MilkyWay.Local.Virgo.Universe.org
Is he really that afraid that he won't get a fair trial - in Sweden?!?
Is there something about the Swedish judicial system that I don't know about? Is it a kangaroo court or something?
What is Assange afraid of?
- cheap booze
- virgin beaches
- non extradion county :)
Ecuador may grant his asylum temporarily in order to gain political bargaining power with the UK, there is no way he will be a permanent resident. I think the walls are closing in for Assange.
It makes him look guilty of the "not wearing a condom" charge. He should just go face the trial, especially since there's no way they can prove he's guilty (it's just her word vs. his).
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
He is truly this paranoid? Can someone get this man to a psychiatrist? He is only wanted for questioning. Sweden wont extradite him to USA. If you believe that you have been sucked in to the conspiracy nuts world.
This is so far from reality
This is why Assange should have been in jail from the beginning, and not staying in a country mansion. What fools he has just made of the UK legal system.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
No less than the admittedly fictional Marshall Matt Dillon once observed that even an innocent man will run from the law. I'd say seeking asylum in the US would be a smarter move than this, though.
If he's not back to the mansion by 6pm won't he be in violation of his release on bond?
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Im seriously sick of hearing about this idiot.
Seems a bit random, i don't know of anything that special about Ecuador, well except... oh wait, he's going to wait for a space elevator to be built there so he can escape to space!
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
Despite his being concerned over other maters, the fact is that the ONLY reason he's being brought back to Sweden is to answer sexual assault charges.
These are complaints from women who used to work with him, not some random people pulled out of a hat. Do they deserve no justice at all if something happened? Do they deserve no chance of a trial for someone they felt attacked them?
There are larger forces at play, sure, but it doesn't mean he should get a free pass on this matter.
Once those are cleared up, then he can seek asylum to avoid possible espionage charges.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You just cant go around asking everybody if they'll grant you asylum. Word might get out with this violating his curent house arrest.
He's going to find out martinis and baccarat in Monte Carlo are not the same as beer and cockfights in Quito.......
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
Some points to notice, in case you care amidst your ad hominems and strawmen.
1. He didn't break the law. The women who he supposedly "raped" only got pissed because they found out Assange had sex with both of them. The other even tweeted how cool it was to meet Assange and how she couldn't "wait to meet the cool people [incl. Assange] again this evening" (this was following the "rape"). If you were really raped, would you be tweeting like that? No.
2. Assange did not flee. He was not told to stay. There was ample time to collect Assange, but nothing was done, so Assange left after several days. Once Assange went out of the country the Swedish prosecutor went apeshit. Assange become an Interpol wanted persona. Of course, this was according to plan.
The saddest part of Wikileaks is that even after they show irrefutable proof of war crimes and other nasty dealings, what is the reaction - people just chant their national anthem louder. That is sad and disgusting.
It's almost as disgusting as people fervently defending that massive system which conducts those kind of abuses on a daily basis.
...why the CIA would need to go through Sweden to get to him when they could just ask the Brits?
How about he requests asylum on the moon where we won't have to hear from the douchebag anymore?
With the news that the U.S. was behind Stuxnet and Flames, seems like probably set him up
No but if you have consensual sex, then have the two women get together then report it have it throw out then reinstated by a higher authority maybe while being in the cross hairs for pissing off a world power sure. Remember neither of them said it was not consensual sex Miss A says he tampered with the condom and that is why it broke, Miss W says they had unprotected sex earlier that night she left the bed and came back to fall asleep again, waking to him having sex with her without a condom as they had earlier. At no point did anybody say they told him no stop or made any other action to say they did not want to have sex with him, by these standards most people in the world are serial rapists. The guy sounds sleazy for sure.
No sir I dont like it.
Can he run for Australian Senate from his Equadorial vacation spot?
I know for sure he can do network TV interviews from there as well as visit any country embassy Equador has an embassy in including the USA!!
These are complaints from women who used to work with him
That's a bit of a stretch.
Dumb asses. They were lucky to get together with their money in the first place.
I'd be pissed. We should send in Dog.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
The woman that he is alleged to have raped has tried to drop the case that she was persuaded to bring.
In most of the world, if a woman does not want to bring a case, the suspect has nothing to answer. What he may have done does not seem to have offended her sufficiently for her to want a court case.
The prosecutor that has managed to bring this case is alleged to be a shill for the USA.
Assange has performed a huge service for the USA, Australia, the UK and loads of other places by bringing to light the crimes of those who see themselves as our betters. That is his real "crime"
I'll see your Constitution and raise you a Queen.
Assange has powerful friends. Are they powerful enough to help him avoid justice on a RAPE charge?
But the fact is they reported it to begin with. Why can we just ignore that?
If it's really so simple the judge will find him innocent and then he can go to Ecuador.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
You don't have your facts correct.
...in South America? Good luck with that; he's far more likely to have something "mysterious" happen to him down there. The guy is an idiot. Go back to Sweden and get your slap on the wrist. How is this guy worthy of so much praise and news I still don't understand.
The British and Swedes could complain mightily about "extraordinary rendition" happening on their turf, and the Americans would pay attention.
But Ecuador? They cannot protect Assange from the CIA or Obama's murderous drones. He's as good as dead in Ecuador. The Americans can buy Ecuador with a minute's debt.
Smart move, indeed.
I guess a question this brings up, then, is how corrupt are western nations now? How many judges are no longer deciding in the name of justice? How many politicians are no longer representing their nation's citizens? Personally, I feel the world changing around me, there is an unspoken momentum behind a strictly hierarchical social structure, and based on what I read, it looks like it is being integrated globally. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that there is a conscious effort behind it, it could just be America changing into a collectivist republic, and everyone else in the world recognizing that they'll have to exercise national social/cultural management practices as well, if they want to retain any kind of sovereignty/self-control. Or maybe it is a big conspiracy, and someone will (rightfully) be pointing an "I-told-you" finger angrily in my face a year from now.
But, swinging back to your assertion, can the judiciary be trusted to find the truth, or is it simply politically & economically expedient to give some foreign country what it wants (especially with a non-conformist like Assange)? Seems to me that finding him guilty is a political win-win; and as long as someone else wants him, he has trading value, but not a lot of value as a free citizen in your country.
They did not immediately report it, at this point nobody is going to get a fair anything unfortunately.
No sir I dont like it.
But the fact is they reported it to begin with. Why can we just ignore that?
Because they dropped the charges.
...I'm here in Ecuador, even that it will be cool to have Julian here, I don't think he will last long in Ecuador.
If he get involved in local politics, he will be exposed to the "LOTS" of government corruption cases. If he is tempted to make public the local government secrets (and all its crap) he will be kick out of the country.
I post Anonymously because I fear of my government. If the local government knows that I criticizing them, they will try to freeze me but not allowing my company to make any business deals and flood me in paperwork with the local IRS.
Is Ecuador one of those sexist countries where getting naked while in bed with a women you had consensual sex with the day before, is not a crime?
There are no charges!!
It is all about "questioning" that this unprecedented amount of work has been done to get him back after letting him go because there was no case and no charges and no questions until AFTER some politician wanted to suck up to the USA.
They can't even convict him of ANYTHING because the only charge being alluded to but not formally applied in anyway is some kind of "involuntary rape" law which their court basically threw out long ago because it was ridiculous. But they can try to bring that up to their supreme court again... not likely. we know what is really going on and yet it continues anyway!
If it was to get a blood test for STDs, that is pointless because the women would have had those already (likely for free too.) So they would know if he gave them something by now. That "question" is moot. One could make many cases if he had a STD at the time and knew about it; but proving he knew is quite difficult. The women involved were not pressing charges; it does not matter what they do because this political fight will go on with or without victims. Blood tests and questions can be handled WITHOUT a perp walk and prison photos - especially when they refuse to charge him with any crimes.
It is not just about trying to get him into gitmo, its about making an EXAMPLE so nobody dares mess with the USA.
One should never trust women who are suddenly interested after a big force has declared war on you. Remember, General Motors hired prostitutes for Ralf Nader to try to get him in trouble (and he wasn't married either) and that was just the biggest car maker.
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the fact is that the ONLY reason he's being brought back to Sweden is to answer sexual assault charges.
How do you know he won't be extradited to the US with minimal process? How do you know that's not the reason for a pretext?
I don't know either way, but I'm making no claims as to the veracity of the charges.
My God, it's Full of Source!
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The guy has pretty much painted himself into a corner by now. He stayed in the UK for 18 months on the grounds that Sweden would be much more US-friendly than even the UK, and would immediately extradite him. So now, after 18 months, he must do everything to ensure that nobody can ever falsify that theory. It would be terrible for him if the Swedish authorities just released him after two hours of questioning.
Honestly, how could the US possibly extradite him at this point? Can you imagine how that would look? Assange has been saying since the whole thing began that this is an attempt to get him to the US, and the public debate and media coverage has made him a household name. If, after all this, he finally gets sent to Sweden, and then the US extradites him, can you imagine the public outcry that this would cause on an international level? Could the US deal with that? I mean, it makes several countries governments look like they've been played for fools.
But I understand Assanges position: If I were him, I wouldn't be waiting for any public outcry: I wouldn't want to land in the US hands in the first place, so go asylum papers!
But this is all assuming that he isn't guilty of course. And I personally believe that at this stage it's goddamn impossible to assert whether he's guilty or being setup. But he _may really believe_ that he is being setup, and that _may_ be a complete fallacy!
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