Don't lose sight of why the US is out to get Julian Assange

[dipsydoodle]

Considering he made his name with the biggest leak of secret government documents in history, you might imagine there would be at least be some residual concern for Julian Assange among those trading in the freedom of information business. But the virulence of British media hostility towards the WikiLeaks founder is now unrelenting.

This is a man, after all, who has yet to be charged, let alone convicted, of anything. But as far as the bulk of the press is concerned, Assange is nothing but a "monstrous narcissist", a bail-jumping "sex pest" and an exhibitionist maniac. After Ecuador granted him political asylum and Assange delivered a "tirade" from its London embassy's balcony, fire was turned on the country's progressive president, Rafael Correa, ludicrously branded a corrupt "dictator" with an "iron grip" on a benighted land.

The ostensible reason for this venom is of course Assange's attempt to resist extradition to Sweden (and onward extradition to the US) over sexual assault allegations – including from newspapers whose record on covering rape and violence against women is shaky, to put it politely. But as the row over his embassy refuge has escalated into a major diplomatic stand-off, with the whole of South America piling in behind Ecuador, such posturing looks increasingly specious.

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The solution is obvious. It's the one that Ecuador is proposing – and that London and Stockholm are resisting. If the Swedish government pledged to block the extradition of Assange to the US for any WikiLeaks-related offence (which it has the power to do) – and Britain agreed not to sanction extradition to a third country once Swedish proceedings are over – then justice could be served. But with loyalty to the US on the line, Assange shouldn't expect to leave the embassy any time soon.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/why-us-is-out-to-get-assange

[a geek named Bob]

1. So maybe we should all

Send him some food and video games...

that, and remind our elected congress critters that if Assange goes, so does our vote.

[freshwest]

2. The US should take the bull by the horns and charge Assange as Manning's accomplice.

IMHO, this is what this is about and everyone is dancing around it, on both sides of the Atlantic. Present its case to the international actors involved with this. Otherwise, the USA and the UK should shut up about it. Okay, they have treaties. But it's not working out too well for anyone.

I also feel that Manning was put out to dry for Wikileaks who used his data but didn't come to his aid when they had money and influence. They were off threatening to release people's private information for the lulz and justified it by saying they were showing it was all hackable. No shit, Sherlock. Why do that to unsuspecting, innocent civilians?

A lot of what Anonymous has threatened to do it spooky videos with orchestra themes and grim reaper tones, it has not carried thorugh for the last few years. But Occupy and others counted on them. I'm not sure if some of the information put out in September of last year in NYC about the corporations who nearly own the planet came from conventional sources or from Wikileaks.Anonymous or Assange.

At times I feel we have simply been entertained by this and nothing has changed. I've seen the slick Anonymous youtube videos and know a lot of Occupy was inspired by adbusters. They seem to have the handle on how to get the news out, but I never trust spooky music and theatrics.

It is the public mind that must be enlightened. And the media will not tell the truth in this country or many other places, and for that Wikileaks began.

The snarky tone and cliques often presented by the anti-Assange, Wikileaks, Anonymous articles are suspicious, reminiscent of The Drudge Report or Glenn Beck's The Blaze.

Thanks for posting this one, something is gettng these guys in overdrive in all the media circles. They should not be trying to influence opinion with their writings and call it the news. Just the facts only. JMHO.

[HooptieWagon]

14. Hes not a US citizen.

How do you charge him under US law he isn't subject to?

[freshwest]

15. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan citizen, was charged by the US & designated a fugitive from justice,

When Libya refused extradition for a trial for over three years and bounties were set on him by several American groups and the FBI. The Scottish government also wanted him for trial. The matter was resolved by having a special court in the Netherlands under Scots law. It took 10 years for him to get into custody.

Anyway, that's paraphrasing Wikipedia. We can charge anyone we like. But charges could be laid by any nation on anyone. Getting hold of them is the issue. I've been evolving my opinion on this and when I posted that, I just wanted it resolved to settle down all parties.

If he is wanted by the USA, he's not been charged. I explained on another post, that the Holder DOJ said it doesn't appear he can be charged, since he was acting as a journalist. And it was a matter of records being copied, not being stolen. So despite the Obama + USA = Evil filter, I don't see it happening, despite the filter. I had only wanted the speculation over. But this is also about politics, CT, popular memes and the cult of personality. So it won't die.

If he now belongs to Ecuador, anyone who wants him should and will talk to them. If the Swedish and British want to have him resolve his escapade with the ladies in Sweden, they will have to get the permission of the government of Ecuador, who's standing guard for him.

I have even changed my opinion on a few subjects witnessing the cat fight that has ensued over this. The motivations of what is being said is not clear to me. I don't accuse anyone here, assume the best of intentions with all their posts and threads here.

But this has become like a GOP, Guns, God and Gays thing. The lines are drawn and no one is going to change their minds. I am trashing all new threads on Wikileaks, Assange and a few other things.

So that is not the in depth discussion you may want, but please go to someone else to argue your case one way or the other. I'm done with Wikileaks and Assange.

TIA.

[struggle4progress]

3. Seumas Milne is happy to quote "a former Stockholm prosecutor" when he says

the extradition is "unreasonable, unfair and disproportionate" -- but his link goes to the "Expert Report of Sven-Erik Alhem" associated with the lawsuit heard in the Magistrate's Court

Alhem did, in fact, so testify before that Court -- but he also testified before the Court, that there was no way Assange could be re-extradited to the US from Sweden

The point, that Milne uses Alhem to argue, was heard by the UK courts, and Assange lost that argument

But on the re-extradition, of Assange to the US from Sweden, we should note that Assange did NOT argue that point in court and has therefore forfeited it

And we should also note that Milne quotes Alhem only when Alhem agrees with him: he pays no attention at all to Alhem's testimony, that Assange could not possibly be re-extradited to the US from Sweden

[tama]

6. Why quote misinformation

when it's been established - also by article you posted - that Swedish Government has administrative power to stop extradition to US? Alhem's background is criminal prosecutor, not expert on international law and Sweden's international extradition treaties.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Ecuador's dismissive media portrayal smacks of post-colonial arrogance

Ecuador's dismissive media portrayal smacks of post-colonial arrogance

The Assange case has sparked much comment about Ecuador and its president – most of it deeply unenlightened

Posted by
Jonathan Glennie
Wednesday 22 August 2012 02.00 EDT guardian.co.uk

~snip~

On Monday, the UK-based Daily Mail published a piece describing Ecuador as "a world of fear under a Left-wing dictator who responds to dissent with an iron fist". This "dictator", the country's president Rafael Correa, has been elected twice with overwhelming majorities, most recently notching up 52% in 2009, more than 20% ahead of his nearest rival. The freedom and fairness of these elections have never been questioned by any country or relevant entity. His current approval ratings are hovering just under 60%.

Concerns about freedom of speech are justified, but should not be exaggerated. According to last year's press freedom index, published by Reporters Without Borders, press freedom in Ecuador has worsened significantly in the past decade and especially in the past two or three years under Correa. But although Ecuador finds itself in the bottom half of the table, it is only four places below Brazil, and well ahead of its Latin American neighbours Peru and Colombia, as well as India and Turkey. Oft-quoted analyses by organisations such as Human Rights Watch have been criticised for failing to discuss the whole picture.

Corruption is still a major political problem, but it is worth noting that last year Ecuador achieved its highest score on Transparency International's corruption perceptions index – which, though imperfect, provides the best measure we have of a country's corruption – since 1996. Moreover, since 2009 Ecuador has scored top marks on the World Bank's credit depth of information index, which measures rules affecting the quality of credit information to facilitate lending decisions. Yes, Ecuador is corrupt. But according to these measures at least, it appears to be getting ever so slightly better, not worse.

Claims about high rates of poverty and inflation since Correa came to power can be easily refuted by glancing at the World Bank figures. Consumer price inflation, which averaged 39% in the 90s and 26% in the first half of the 00s, has averaged 4.5% since Correa came to power. And poverty has never been lower, with $1.25-a-day poverty down from more than 20% in 2000 to less than 5% in 2010. Inequality is also at a historic low, with the Gini coefficient (which measures income inequality) dipping under 50 in 2009 for the first time since records began, a significant decline from rates nearer 60 a decade earlier. In 2010, Ecuador was described by the Overseas Development Institute as one of the top 20 performing countries in the world in terms of reaching the MDGs, particularly with regard to reducing extreme poverty and under-five mortality rates.

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/aug/22/ecuador-dismissive-portrayal-post-colonial-arrogance

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. A good Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary

Sex, Lies and Julian Assange

LINK :
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101750458


I read your article this morning and was gonna post it
but had to walk the dog.


kick nominated

[polly7]

7. Kick.

[bemildred]

8. The flagrantly disobedient must be punished, that's why.

Nothing new about it.

[tama]

10. You mean by

the little guy on some intermediate ladder of power hierarchy, getting peed on by the higher ups, and because he's feeling powerless against them, he is desperately looking for somebody below him to kick. And those outside the hierarchy, whom even the highest ups can't seem to control, they are the worst. They MUST be punished, those flagrantly disobedient, because their very existence makes him feel so... meaningless and petty.

[bemildred]

11. No. nt

[idwiyo]

9. K&Rn

[idwiyo]

12. I feel ashamed of the conduct of my government.

They had no problem with letting Pinochet go but when it comes to Assange they are ready to do anything to get him arrested.

Funny how it works - if you re responsible for torture and murdering tens of thousands of people, you re fine. If you re trying to prevent torture, murder and other crimes, you are fucked.

[idwiyo]

13. Kick

[yurbud]

16. the media spin isn't working