Slashdot Mirror
Ecuador To Grant Assange Political Asylum
NSN A392-99-964-5927 writes with news that Ecaudor will grant Julian Assange's request for political asylum. An Ecuador official told The Guardian that the country's president, who earlier indicated his decision would arrive after the Olympic Games, will approve the request Assange made in June.
"Government sources in Quito confirmed that despite the outstanding legal issues Correa would grant Assange asylum – a move which would annoy Britain, the US and Sweden. They added that the offer was made to Assange several months ago, well before he sought refuge in the embassy, and following confidential negotiations with senior London embassy staff. The official with knowledge of the discussions said the embassy had discussed Assange's asylum request. The British government, however, 'discouraged the idea,' the offical said. The Swedish government was also 'not very collaborative,' the official said. The official added: 'We see Assange's request as a humanitarian issue. The contact between the Ecuadorean government and WikiLeaks goes back to May 2011, when we became the first country to see the leaked US embassy cables completely declassified ... It is clear that when Julian entered the embassy there was already some sort of deal. We see in his work a parallel with our struggle for national sovereignty and the democratisation of international relations.'"
Good for Assange and good for Ecuador.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
A Latin American country is providing safe harbor for a journalist who dared to expose top-secret documents on the military. Someone needs to rework the "In Soviet Russia..." meme for juntas.
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
While there are certainly many mysteries surrounding polish president's death, it was well after Poland joined EU in 2004.
As easy as it may be to pull off logistically, it's not nearly as simple politically. Which is why this dog & pony show has gone on so long. If it were as simple as a plane crash or a fuckton of missles or a drone strike, he'd already be dead.
Of course, Ecuador can expect to be brought before some trumped up UN committee and sanctioned for this soon.
Ya because no covert intelligence agency anywhere has ever used a Honey trap.....
And to think most in the US view South America as some backwards "third world" with no freedom and the US is the freest country in the world.
Interesting how quickly things change.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
What's really so mysterious about controlled flight into terrain under bad weather/visibility conditions? It's not like it's the first time that sort of thing happens.
Assange is a political refugee, he needs a hide out because a large and a very powerful organisation (and more than one) are after him for disseminating information that those powerful organisations want to keep quiet.
If Assange falls in the hands of American government, he is going to be made an example of, and it's going to be worse than Vietnam for him, sort of like what they did to Bradley Manning but maybe times 10.
Isn't it amazing, 60 years ago people wouldn't have believed if somebody told them, that America could become this....
You can't handle the truth.
Ecuador is taking a startlingly appropriate and laudable position here, IMHO.
Poland has been one of the more enthusiastic new EU members.
Ya because no covert intelligence agency anywhere has ever used a Honey trap...
And not at all suspicious that we have a known CIA operative - And a close friend of hers - as the women involved here.
That doesn't mean he didn't do it, but when it comes to "benefit of the doubt", he definitely gets it in this case.
Sweden assisted the US in extrajudicial rendition and had police turn over two egyptian guys straight to the CIA for transport to torture. The Swedish minister of 'Justice' at the time, Thomas Bodström, who most likely knew about and ok'd the illegal rendition at the time coincidentally runs a law firm together with the representative of the women who brought the allegations.
Not to say that it's a conspiracy, but one can understand why there's a certain reluctance to trust Sweden. It's become a banana republic complicit in torture run by a frat club of criminals.
This is a trumped up accusation of rape, disclaimed by the victims, dropped by the proscutor, and only reopened under political pressure from the US. He can't expect a fair trial any more than he could expect a fair indictment.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
I am not very tin foil hat-ish (Im abig believer is stupidity and selishness being the root of most issues), but even I think he is being setup. Maybe not setup in the traditional sense, but the US is pressuing Sweden to nial him to the cross if they can on any charge they can when the oppurtunity arose (thus the charge being reduced then reinstated).
I cannot speak to the veracity, but I found several sources on Google that indicated that the 'rape' was having sex without a condom. That the sex was completely consensual (if foolish). Again, I dont have stats, but how many men go to jail is sweeden every year for doing a woman (or in this case 2 women) bareback. With their concent.
It is possible I suppose that they withdrew consent as some sources claim, but that becomes a he-said she-said thing. Add to that the fact that neither woman seemed phased by the encounters until they talked to each other and it becomes even more fishy and sounds like sour grapes.
Add to THAT the pressure the US government is surely putting on the Swedes, and you have a nice little setup.
The entire thing has oddity written all over it, and frnakly as much as I think the guy is an arrogant douchebag, I would do the same thing in his situation.
First, he'll have to learn to drive on the other side of the road. Then a crash course in Spanish won't hurt.
Here's a starter: Alto! = Stop! Tus papeles por favor = Your papers please
He's going to Ecuador, not Texas...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
At least three things in that last sentence don't correlate, Poland was and is overwhelmingly for the EU, they were already a member by the time the plane crash happened and the crash was on Russian soil, a country that is not so happy with Poland getting cosier with the West.
"The likes of Facebook and WhatsApp are free to those whose privacy is of zero value."
Besides the way Obama's dealt with this Wikileaks issue I otherwise like him
So this bothers you, but his treatment of Thomas Drake doesn't? Or the fact that he considers legal medical marijuana dispensaries in California to be a higher priority target than the investment bankers who crashed the economy in 2008? Or his continued use of unconstitutional warrantless wiretaps? Or that he signed the blatantly unconstitutional 2012 NDAA? Or his unilateral assassination of American citizens abroad?
The chief of the ACLU is "disgusted" with Obama. You should be too.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Listen to Assange's side of the story.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9309000/9309320.stm
He isn't wanted for a crime in Sweden, only for "questioning" by a prosecutor. He was in Sweden for 5 weeks following the alleged incidents so there was ample opportunity for this. When he left, he wasn't running from the Swedish authorities like a fugitive. He's also willing to speak with the Swedish prosecutor, but he didn't want to go back to Sweden to do it.
I think this reeks of conspiracy.
Actually, it's because of such simplistic stereotypes about how rape victims are supposed to behave that so many sexual assaults still go unreported. Once you know that most rapes are committed by people the victim knew, you can understand why not all victims immediately go to the police. It's perfectly understandable that, if they had already had consensual intercourse before, the alleged victim would feel bad about what happened afterward if she did not agree to having sex without a condom but did not immediately report it. It's a common reaction and victims often need the help of their family or friends to fully understand what has happened to them and realize that it was rape. The fact that they "didn't seem phased" doesn't mean much, as there are many cases of rape victims dating and having subsequent intercourse with their rapist (clear-cut example: all those who were victims of marital rape).
See for references to published research: http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/pub_victim_responses_sexual_assault.pdf
Apparently the story from the Guardian is false.
https://rt.com/news/assange-granted-asylum-ecuador-298/
US telling Russia "I scratched your back, now you scratch mine"
THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE DUUUUUUDE
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
he was placed under house arrest. Why didn't the US extradite him then? Why would Sweden extradite him before he can stand trial for crimes allegedly committed in Sweden?
I'm god, but it's a bit of a drag really...
and don't try to tell me a Republican would be more sympathetic.
Who said anything about Republicans? Vote third party or stay the fuck home.
As I admitted, this is the (FAR) lesser of two evils in my estimate
You're still voting for evil.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
However, you douches made it the only option. By hounding him you ensure that he has to cut a deal.
Way to go, douche bags.
The whole thing would have been over ages ago if he'd just gone to Sweden to answer the questions. Only the conspiracy nutjobs thinks it was a US plot to execute him. When Ecuador looks like a better democractic country than Sweden then you know someone's been drinking too much of the koolaid.
Ya I think the geeks need to do a bit more research on rape victims and what goes on. The near universal geek reaction seems to be "This is such bullshit, he didn't rape her, she's a liar clearly!" Well my sister, who is getting a PhD in sociology relating to women's issues has a rather different view: She says ya, she could see this being true. Assange is clearly a person with boundary issues, and the way the victims have acted is quite consistent with how many women act, including ones she's interviewed.
None of that means it is true, of course, just that it passes her "smell test" for something that could be true. She also does have a bit of experience with such a thing given that she actively does research in it.
I think there needs to be a bit of mind-opening for geeks with regards to this. Certainly don't pre-suppose guilt but consider that it is possible. If you don't think the women acted "like they should" then it means you need to do more research as to how women ACTUALLY act in such cases. No surprise, it is quite varied.
The "covert CIA operative" line is the most "jumped the shark" accusation in this whole fiasco. Do you actually know where that comes from? It's because Ardin once wrote two anti-Castro articles for a magazine Revista de Asignaturas Cubanas, which is put out by a group, Misceláneas de Cuba, which according to some professor, is itself funded by a Swedish organization (unnamed), which is connected with Union Liberal Cubana, which is led by led by Carlos Alberto Montaner, which a Wordpress article says is connected with the CIA. Oh, and she met with a women's right group in Cuba who once had a parade in Florida wherein an accused plane bomber marched next to Maria Carey. Therefore, she's a CIA operative! I kid you not.
Can you Assange fans please get back in touch with reality here and step out of the echo chamber for once? Start with the judgement.
We're practicing our labials.
The Paraguayan President was ousted in a Contitutional manner, due to his enormous incompetence.
Source?
Sweden is a first-world democracy, with duly separated branches of government.
The Swedish judges are entirely independent from the ambassadors. They come from separated branches of the government.
Now, this is - at a minimum - assault, if she didn't wish to be restrained the way he did. If he was penetrating her while restraining her against her wishes, this would be rape.
Taken out of context. She seemed to be consenting, then when he went to consummate the act, she stopped him and said she wanted him to use a condom. So he put a condom on. At least that's what SHE says happened. That isn't considered rape anywhere else.
He violated the condition of her consent - that a condom be used. Therefore, he did not have her consent. Having sex with someone, when you knowingly violate the conditions that they place on their consent, is rape. In any civilized country in the world, it's rape.
Translation, he did use a condom as she asked, but it broke. Not considered rape anywhere else.
Again, if she was unwilling to be touched this way... and she expressed that wish to him... this is, at a minimum, assault.
They had been in a sexual relationship for a week by then (including after counts one and two, so she apparently wasn't thinking of those as rape at the time). So he came on to her and she wasn't in the mood. Not considered rape anywhere else.
Having unprotected sex with an unconscious woman who has specifically expressed a wish that a condom be used in any sexual act most definitely qualifies as rape in pretty much any civilized society, as well.
Translation, he came on to her in the middle of the night when she had been asleep. Not considered rape anywhere else.
It is noteworthy that the 'victim' seems not to be all that happy to see charges filed even though she obviously has the full backing of the state behind her. She acts as if she doesn't feel raped. It seems that she is now being compelled to cooperate in the proceedings.
It also seems that the authorities in Sweden didn't consider any of that rape until he had already left the country with their blessings.
Call it rape if you want, but in doing so you risk belittling the victimization of women who truly were raped in the sense of having sexual contact forced upon them against their will.
You are aware that in the normal world (any place that is not Sweden) lying to get sex is not actually a crime? If it was, 99% of men would in jail. The remaining 1% are catholic priests and they would be in jail for raping kids.
Assange played two women. That is what ALL this is about. There is NO way this would stand up in any court expect in Sweden and then only because the Americans told them to do something.
Only right wing nutcases pretend the case against Assange has any merit whatsoever.
Oh and the two women involved already knew each other. AND the case had already been dismissed before the Americans got involved.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.