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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.
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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!
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.
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.
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.
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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
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.
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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/
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.
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.