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Assange Says Harrods Assisting Metro Police in 'Round-the-Clock Vigil'
The Daily Mail reports that Julian Assange seems to have yet another foe (or at least friend of a foe) watching persistently while he stays put in the Ecuadorean embassy in London: Harrod's Department Store. The Metro Police, according to Assange, have developed a relationship with the store, and are using that relationship to facilitate their full-time observation of his roosting place in the embassy. When the founder of Wikileaks says, "We have obtained documents from Harrods [saying that] police have people stationed 24 hours a day in some of the opposing buildings Harrods controls," it seems likely that those documents actually exist.
It may be unusual that its going on for such a long period of time but police (in the UK and elsewhere) regularly work with building owners to get access to vantage points overlooking suspect properties to observe what is going on.
..is the effort they spend for Jesus Assange. They must be really scared of the truth.
And what's the point?
Are they expecting a sudden boycott of Harrods or something?
or when you take a bath. They can tape every cry.
They can tape every laugh. They can turn you around so you won't know what's real. By reel.
Reading about heros in history books is cool and all, but real life sucks a lot worse. Especially if people might like you better dead. Besides, who here has really benefited from this whole charade? Not me. I din't even know what the fuss is about, and even if I did, i mean, it's not like i would really care. not really. It's all I can do to make sure i provide free healthcare for illegal aliens. Donald Trump is gonna fix that though, imagine is him and Christie ar running mates? One thing for sure this election is going to be fun. I mean if Joe Biden is your back up plan. HoHo, Crazy Joe might just win this thing, not that it will help poor ullian.
I thought the swedish statute of limitations had expired. Doesn't that mean the arrest warrant is moot and he is free to leave?
So what's the continuation of this horseshit abuse of power by the Met?
The clerk at Herrod's isn't looking at you like that because he's spying, he's wondering why you're wearing those GAWDAWFUL shirts and can't take care of your hair.
What are you doing with all your time in that embassy? Not showering or clothes shopping, that's for sure! Is it illegal to look good in Ecuador?
You shouldn't be worried about fascists coming after you, it's fashionistas who have a real vendetta!
@Anonymous Coward: "Why is this shit even on Slashdot?"
.. Collateral Murder - Wikileaks - Iraq
Maybe because of this
"Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."
This is a suprise? People should be outraged? Not so much.
Adds he's paranoia got the best of him years ago. Not his well founded paranoia about the USA Three Letter Agencies, but his paranoia about his place of power in The Cult of Assange.
Most of his personal issues could have been resolved years ago, his current situation are of his own making.
He needs to fly to Sweeden and take care of his personal business, you know: "man up".
The chances of him being extradited to the U.S. are slim to none at this point.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Of course they are using local resources to keep an eye on him. He's a criminal hiding in an embassy, they aren't just going to forget about it.
A retail establishment, that depends on maintaining good relationships with the Bobbies so that beat cops show up promptly when they suspect/catch someone stealing is letting said Bobbies use their building.
Julian, you may be right about some of the things you allege. Your problem is that you're too damn selfish to realize the rest of the world isn't going to stop just because you're in trouble. The Australian people are not gonna waste a Senate seat on your ass, Herod's isn't going to make some great to-do about fighting for your freedom and piss off the local constabulary, the Swedes aren't gonna completely ignore their laws (and the fact that two of their citizens are accusing you of rape) just to make you feel better about your odds of being deported, etc.
Worse still for Assange is the knowledge that this news story only acts to promote Herrods...
If you are a tourist in London and have any interest in Julian Assange, he's easy enough to find across the street from Herrod's!
Now they are using him as a commercial billboard, which really adds insult to injury.
Nothing unusual here - the summary has innacuracies...
Metro police? Is Richard Castle investigating?
You can't even blame the article which mostly refers to New Scotland Yard and on the one instance I spotted uses the proper name of Metropolitan police.
If you are going to use short forms please try and use the correct ones....
They are known as The Met.
Metro police is too long and sounds too American.
Now someone will find the spelling or grammatical mistake I missed whilst proof reading this comment and flame me for it. :)
A highly-edited video, with deceptive commentary, that shows how several 'journalists' embedded in a terrorist group that was in the middle of an attack on US troops were killed when the terrorist group received air bombardment?
THAT video?
Julian Assange is getting sad nobody is mentioning him in the media anymore.
Don't worry, more documents have been leaked! The cops are still keeping an eye on him!
Don't we have enough with this drama queen? Let him be forgotten by all of us. He is just trying to keep is popularity indicator to the highest mark he can. That is the only thing he can deal to get some money.
Achille Talon
Hop!
The thing is, as beneficial as some of the things Assange has done are, on a personal level he is prone to wild and clearly false conspiracy theories and completely untrustworthy unless he is disclosing (unedited) documentary evidence of whatever he's talking about.
A lot of US government shills in the comments today. Did you think you wouldn't be noticed?
The validity of the charges in Sweden aren't his only problem. They could drop the case, he'd still be in trouble with the UK because he fled bail. Bail is an agreement between you and the court. You agree to appear as ordered, and they let you out of jail. Often there is also a monetary component to try and ensure your compliance. However regardless of the details, you are legally required to present yourself in court when ordered.
So when Sweden said they wanted him, the UK arrested him. In the EU there's some pretty strong extradition rules so even though the UK had no issue with him, their extradition treaty with Sweden required them to arrest him. He was granted bail, and the monetary component was paid for by supporters. At the point, he had to wait for a court date when the UK courts would determine if the extradition request was valid. At that point if they did, they'd hand him off to Sweden, give back his bail money, and would be all done as far as they were concerned.
They did find it was a valid request, he challenged that finding, and so on up to the UK's high court. They ruled that yes, it was a valid request. Remember this has nothing to do with guilt, they are not interested in that. Their only interest is if the extradition request is a valid one per the treaty. It was, so they said "Ok, you have to turn yourself in and we'll ship you off to Sweden." He decided not to, and instead fled.
Well at that point he become a criminal in the UK. They now had a criminal interest in him since he'd broken UK law by skipping bail. Doesn't matter anything about the original charges. This is a separate crime, and it is an ongoing one, so no statute of limitations.
That's how it works basically everywhere. If the court says you have to how up, and you don't, that by itself is a crime.
His claims that if he went to Sweden they'd send him to the US. Ummmm, really? Because if there were a nation I would be worried about handing me off to the US clandestinely, it would be the UK. The UK and US cooperate to a ridiculous extent on international matters. So I have trouble believing that you could go there and feel like they'd protect you, but be worried about Sweden handing you over.
They could easily expunge the embassy legally. Maybe move it to another property. Assange couldn't follow and they could legally then go in after him.
...except for the "justice" part of "fugitive from justice"...
That if Assange were to go outside a drone would most likely take him out.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/...
11 million quid making sure a bail-jumper that the Swede's can't be bothered interviewing doesn't get away? Seriously? How often do Governments like the UK waste this sort of money for something so trivial? Answer me that.
I think I read somewhere the other day that since this whole fiasco started Sweden has gone overseas to interview other suspects over 200 times! But for some reason they can't do that in Assange's case because...reasons??
You'd think that when the cost of this thing went over 5 million the UK'd have said to Sweden to either hurry the fuck up or give up on the charges. Now they've spent 11 million and some of the charges have passed the statute of limitations. It's just idiotic.
Nope, sorry. There is definitely something hinky going on here.
> even current members of the legislature aren't "government officials."
I defer to your clearly superior knowledge of politics. I never would have surmised that this was the case.
No, he's talking about the one where guys who were escorting some journalists and who happened to be armed because they were a protection detail were blown to pieces by some other guys in an attack helicopter who'd been trained to fire on anyone who was armed and was not a US serviceman. Seems that battlefield training doesn't really translate all that well to the urban pacification role - who knew.
The best bit is when the little kids get blown to pieces because the a-holes in the helo didn't CHECK THEIR TARGETS and fired on first responders anyway.
All he has to do is to hang on till Donald Trump becomes the president and the USA policies become smart again.
If he dies now, he becomes a martyr. Even his critics do not want that. They'd much rather see him discredited. A rape conviction would be ideal for that.
Don't leave your house for the next five years because you have every reason to fear you will be made a political prisoner, and tell us how awesome it was.
You mean this tired historical revisionism? The helicopter crew straight up murdered a bunch of civilians minding their own business. There is nothing in the unedited video that gave them cause to open fire on people who weren't posing a threat to anyone, much less those who tried to help the dying.
The UK has rules against deporting people to regimes that practice torture and the death penalty. Regimes like....the United States. Just ask Chelsey Manning, who was subjected to torture for a year and a half before being dragged into a kangaroo court. If this were a black bag operation with plausible deniability, MI-5 would hand him over without a heartbeat - but for a well known dissident in the middle of the country, not so much.
Whereas Sweden participated in the kidnapping of two men, to send them off to be tortured. The Sweden that pointedly refuses to promise not to hand Assange over to the U.S., despite Assange's offer to return to Sweden if such a promise was made.
Any more Concerns?
Of the USA. They have no qualms about getting "international effort" into prosecuting people for their own gain, but refuse to abide by international law themselves. Because they have guns. And are mad enough to use them.
"Major retailer offers surveillance location and co-operates with law-enforcement to help bring known fugitive to justice."
Fuck off trying to discredit everyone, Assange, and come out of your hole and stop costing me money (or, at least, cost me money by being in jail until the UK has finished all ITS business with you).
From now on, I'm going to buy my towel at Marks and Spencer. Because I'm one of those guys who really knows where his towel is.
They CAN ask you. They don't HAVE to ask you. They can demand to ask you, and you can refuse to answer. NOTHING requires the accuser to accede to being questioned.
The option to do so is not the requirement to do so. Read the fucking law.
They'd much rather see him discredited. A rape conviction would be ideal for that.
Letting the idiot hide from perfectly rational charges (yes, Sweden is waiting at the questioning stage, but it will most likely turn into multiple charges, some of rape, some related to trying to hide from prosecution) is even better than a conviction for anything. As he keeps putting effort toward avoiding the consequences of actions he has admitted to, his former supporters will grow up and abandon him.
That our power elites are lying pieces of crap that are robbing us blind, murdering those who expose this robbery, and are getting away with it is something we shall not be allowed to know about.
I'm not surprised that people hate Assange, because they are a) haters and b) brainwashed.
counts for something...
if this is supposed to be a new economy, how come they still want my old fashioned money?
That's a lot of effort for a simple case of ANOTHER country simply wanting to "talk to him" about the alleged rape.
I feel almost as though more time , resources and co-ordination are going into this than we hear about behind the scenes of tracking terrorists, sex traffickers, or white collar criminals.
Have the UK public asked to see the bill for all this? To keep a non-violent offender, who's case I think anyone can see has no merit in his home country, locked down over an extradition order that is likely now invalid. When the people bringing the charges say they don't want this to proceed and yet you have such a massive manhunt it makes you wonder.
Is this about Justice, or is this political influence in the administration of justice in the UK, EU, and supported or orchestrated by the United States?
Why doesn't Assange escape? He could disguise himself as a dark skinned person, and just walk out!
So they are spending 1 officer per 8 hour shift, 3 times a day, 7 days a week,52 weeks a yr. PLUS I,m sure they are paying rent for the space they are using to watch him. Wonder just how much that costs. For someone who may/maynot be guilty?
Jack of all trades,master of none
About 200 meters down the street, their buddies were firing at a group of US troops. 200 meters is well within range of small arms fire (which those terrorists were carrying) and dangerously close for what appeared to be an RPG of some sort. So the US helicopters correctly took action to kill the threat of the incoming reinforcements to an ongoing fight. The fact that some of those men in the group of armed terrorist reinforcements turned out not to be armed is irrelevant.
The vehicle that came in later was not marked with any neutral symbols, and gave no indication of being an unarmed medical only vehicle. In addition, the passengers of said vehicle began picking up the weapons of the dead and injured - which makes them a valid target, even if they had been a medical team.
The laws of war are quite clear. Known collateral damage is acceptable if the value of the target is sufficient. Even IF they had known the men were journalists, their death still would have been acceptable, because the point of the attack was to kill those terrorists that were there, and that were killed by the attack.
As for the 'full' video? That'd be the video that starts way before hand, when the helicopters take off and begin recording, rather than the version that is trimmed to show only the helicopters already orbiting the site. Do you get the hear the request of support as the convoy came under attack? Do you get to hear the full conversation that leads to the authorization to open fire? Do you think the original camera video had highlights pointing out "Not a gun" or "This is a journalist" in an obvious attempt to prejudice observations? No, WikiLeaks edited the video, as with any propaganda piece, to shape views rather than reveal the truth.
The "laws of war" allow for the deliberate murder of civilians do they? Because without evidence that they intended harm towards those American that's what it is.
You may not realize it but it's not good enough to say, after you've killed them all, that "they were all just terrorists anyway".
When you do that, that's a war crime.
"Their buddies?" You mean people living in the same country who look like them? Your racism is noted.
WTF? People minding their own business in their own country have to paint "neutral symbols" to drive? It wouldn't matter if they had, anyway, because then you would have just said it could have been an Al Queda trick, or some other BS.
Go home tonight and dig out your Bluray copy of Red Dawn to watch it again, only this time remember the kids were "insurgents" and "terrorists", and anyone within 200 meters of them could have been gunned down by a Soviet helicopter.