$11,675,000 spent by the UK so far "guarding" Julian Assange 'cuz Sweden refuses to come to the UK.

[snot]

That's how dangerous truth is (to the same people who tell us that if we have nothing to hide, we should have nothing to fear).

More at http://govwaste.co.uk .

[KoKo]

1. Indeed...thanks for posting this..

[msanthrope]

2. Did you add in the losses incurred by the idiots who posted bail for him, and lost their money

when he became a bail jumper?

Mr. Assange can continue living in the Ladies' Loo for as long as he wishes. When he is finally extradited to Sweden, he will be arrested.

[BillZBubb]

3. What has that got to do with anything? They knew what they were doing.

I suppose you are big fan of government waste.

[msanthrope]

5. I think it no waste to bring an alleged rapist and an actual bail jumper to the bar of the court. nt

[BillZBubb]

6. How many alledged rapists/bail jumpers does the US or UK spend $11 mil on?

Assange is being treated much differently than any ordinary suspect because he embarrassed the powerful.

[msanthrope]

7. Again...tell me why Mr. Assange should not be brought before the bar of the court? nt

[BillZBubb]

8. I didn't say he shouldn't. That's a red herring.

What is abhorrent is the extent that governments embarrassed by Assange have gone to get him.

[msanthrope]

9. Mr. Assange chose to use the extensive appeals process in the UK, and then chose to jump bail.

This is a situation of Mr. Assange's making.

He should appear before the bar of the court, and stop acting like a petulant coward.

[treestar]

11. Au contraire, Julian demanded special treatment

He jumped bail! How can he be in the right?

[Gravitycollapse]

16. It would be a ridiculous logical proof asserting that anyone who jumps bail is in the wrong.

He claims that the case against him is politically motivated. If that is true, how would jumping bail not be the right thing to do?

The question isn't really about the rightness of jumping bail. It's really about the voracity of the legal accusations against him. I think this case needs to be depolarized but I don't think that will be happening any time soon.

There are really only possible proposals being made regarding the background of the acts and the intentions of the accusers. Anyone on the outside looking in really doesn't have a clue who is telling the truth. Are there conspiratorial forces at work or are the two women genuine in their accusations? It would be ridiculous for you or I to say we know one way or the other.

That's the sort of insane perpetual motion behind this entire situation. It's Assange's reclusive nature which is has fueled the anger of the women making the accusations. But he claims to be reclusive precisely because of the possibility of such accusations being falsely asserted.

Who do we believe? I really honestly don't know. If we go in one direction, we run the danger of letting a rapist off the hook. If we go in the other direction we've compromised the safety of an individual deeply important to the "leaks" movement. Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But, again, we can't really know.

[treestar]

17. So he gets to decide whether he is prosecuted or not?

Anyone charged could claim it was politically motivated and they could jump bail.

It doesn't matter what the motivation is. It's a matter of proof. If they don't have proof, he can't be convicted. If they do, he can be. He's not entitled to commit crimes without consequence.

Face the charges rather than jump bail. How can anyone justify this and still claim they are for the rule of law?

[Gravitycollapse]

19. "If they don't have proof, he can't be convicted." - I think most of us understand that to be false.

If politically motivated charges can be fabricated, politically motivated convictions can be imposed. That isn't to say that these are necessarily politically motivated. But if one thinks they are, then it is not difficult at all to imagine a false conviction.

[treestar]

24. that could be true of anything!

That's why trials are public. How could we have a legal system at all if the person who breaks the law (or for whom there is enough evidence to be brought to trial) gets to say, No, this is politically motivated and so I don't have to face the trial. Every defendant would say that.

[pnwmom]

15. Where does that figure come from? There is always security at the Embassy.

I'd distrust any number reported by someone who speaks of Assange as being "detained" in the Embassy. He took refuge there to avoid extradition to face multiple charges of rape.

[BillZBubb]

4. You can't embarass the national security apparatus...

If you do, they'll find some way to stick it to you.

[truebluegreen]

10. I'm guessing the Ecuadorian embassy is the safest place in Britain. nt

[Nye Bevan]

12. My sympathies are with the staff of the Ecuadorian embassy.

Imagine an unshaven, unwashed Julian Assange wandering around your workplace in a bathrobe, drinking your coffee, stealing your food from the refrigerator, and ranting about the evil British and Swedish governments at every opportunity.

[WillyT]

13. K & R !!!

[pnwmom]

14. The alleged rapist hasn't been involuntarily "detained." He decided to avoid extradition

to face charges of rape by taking refuge in the Embassy.

[MohRokTah]

18. Yeah, and Obama spent $3 million hiding his birth certificate.

A lot of claims about how much money is spent on something somebody is politically opposed to appear on a lot of internet sites.

And of course it's true, because it's on the internet and you can see the number increasing and everything!

[woo me with science]

20. K&R

[Zorra]

21. The 1% doesn't care; they have all the money in the world to ensure that this whistleblower who

exposed their nasty deeds remains a captive for the rest of his life.

[woo me with science]

22. kick

[conservaphobe]

23. Give him a week to pay up and evict him. nt

[hack89]

25. Why should Sweden come to London

If Assange won't go back with them?

Let's be honest here - we are not talking about an interview here. They want to arrest him. He doesn't want to be arrested.