Happy Face

Exactly my thoughts and why I asked for casual observers views. Iraq had WMD...Palestine/Israel is a war between 2 equal and opposing, equally culpable sides....austerity leads to prosperity....Iran are a nuclear threat...Assange was reckless and endangered the middle east, not the US..... It's almost impressive how the exact opposite of fact becomes the prevailing wisdom thatnks to the machinations of political and media elites

He went for questioning in Stockholm willingly in 2010. The arrest warrant was withdrawn at the time and was only re-issued after the diplomatic cables release, after the US started piling on the pressure and pressing for action against him. He'd come back to England by then having had a request for residency in Sweden knocked back without reason being given. He's offered to answer all and any questions Swedish authorities might have in the UK. Timeline here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11949341 Sweden have good protections for Whistleblowers so he hoped to base Wikileaks there.

Mendez, who runs the UN office that investigates incidents of alleged torture around the world, told the Guardian: "I conclude that the 11 months under conditions of solitary confinement (regardless of the name given to his regime by the prison authorities) constitutes at a minimum cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of article 16 of the convention against torture. If the effects in regards to pain and suffering inflicted on Manning were more severe, they could constitute torture." Mendez told the Guardian that he could not reach a definitive conclusion on whether Manning had been tortured because he has consistently been denied permission by the US military to interview the prisoner under acceptable circumstances. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/12/bradley-manning-cruel-inhuman-treatment-un

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/julian-assange-sweden The allegations may have been trumped up since, but the complainants weren't asking for any more. The police surrounding the embassy is a message to ecuador. As the Wikileaks statement this morning states... This threat is designed to preempt Ecuador’s imminent decision on whether it will grant Julian Assange political asylum, and to bully Ecuador into a decision that is agreeable to the United Kingdom and its allies. Decision due in 3 hours or so now. The man has been courageous enough to take on the might of the US at great risk to his own personal safety and liberty. He continues to do so while fighting those forces piling massive pressure on him. A fight that would cease for him, the moment he was in custody. He is not prepared to stop fighting that injustice and is using the means at his disposal to keep it going, almost single handed. All while the international community stands in line behind the might of the US and does their bidding...but Assange doesn't have courage? Plus Assange does shine a light on Ecuadors human rights record. The diplomatic cables revealed much about Ecuador. Taking advantage of their commitment to asylum rights does nothing to contradict that.

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Which charges? He's not been tortured to fuck because he's not been in custody in the US yet. The US torture people to fuck as a matter of routine, and kill them. Without charges of any kind being made. There's every reason to think they would do that to him once they got their mitts on him.

For the UK to remove embassy rights from Ecuador in order to arrest and then extradite a man who hasn't been charged with a crime anywhere in the world is unprecedented.....and yes, unjust. The fact it's being done over an STD test and not an actual violent crime of any sort only worsens it. Not sure what you mean with the second question. Are you sayiong Assange should gladly volunteer himself for inevitable torture and basically for his life to be ended, for the sake of saving embarrassment to the UK justice system? Do that, or he's a coward?

I think they'll be dealt with quickly and will come to nothing. Having him there under that pretense will allow him to be handed over to the US though, which Sweden are much more willing to do. Once the US have him, there is no chance whatsoever of him being charged with a crime or given a trial. They'll just lock him up and torture him to fuck. You only have to look at Bradley Manning, the alleged actual leaker and US citizen, who has been detained for years without any charge, in conditions constituting torture as stated by human rights groups.

It's shameful isn't it? A country with such a poor record is actually ahead of the UK when it comes to not forcing people out of their country and in to potential harm without justification.

How can the allegations be beside the point? That's what he's being hounded for. Nothing whatsoever to do with his Wikileaks work...they would have you believe....because no crime was committed there. The notion of him receiving a trial when all they want is an STD test is laughable. Supporting it is stranger still.

Every single day you can read of an unnamed source leaking classified information. Obama does it himself on national TV (it's still a crime even if you're the president). The question is intent. Obama does it to brag about US actions to look strong on foreign policy for an election, Wikileaks does it to shame the perpetrators of war crimes. Should Elsberg be jailed/killed too?

He looks weird...and sounds weird....and dances weird. He might be a creep too, but extradition (potential indefinite detention and subsequent death) isn't the usual punishment for it like, without charge.

You suggest he finds himself in this situation due to a mistake he made (having unprotected sex i assume you mean). I doubt the majority of men that have unprotected sex find themselves in this situation. I can't think of any others.

"Both complainants say they did not report him to the police for prosecution but only to require him to have an STD test." Police vans are currently surrounding the embassy, ready to circumvent international law, setting precedence on all asylum seekers for decades to come, over a Chlamydia test. The lack of outrage astounds me...which is why I started the poll....the result explains it though.

Lad on our global address List at work called Mandeep Mong. Also a Brian Ball-achey (without the hyphen)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-19259623 Interested in the views of casual observers.

The numbers include manslaughter

How could anyone reading the thread not be drawn to the 90 page pdf discussing the numbers?

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_273169.pdf The BBC report is not a like for like comparison. Shows total numbers of murders (which you'd expect to fluctuate in line with population) rather than murder rate per million, a rise in which would suggest more "evil". Data does show murder rates per million people were at a 100 year peak in 1995 and the total number of murders were at a 45 year peak in 2002. That drop off in total numbers is interesting over the last ten years or so, What do you think that abrupt change in a 100 year trend can be attributed to? Could it not just be a 5 year grouping of outliers on the low side, following a five year group of outliers on the high side between 2000-2005, while the overall trend remains upwards?

Found it cheers... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18900384 I'll have to have a read of the ONS stats linked to

Not sure about either yours or Rentons claim here... http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/rp99/rp99-111.pdf

I'd like a drink with bjquick. 4 years a member. Still signing in and browsing....not a post to his/her name. Just an observer, like Ban Ki Moon.

"Hey there baby, the name's Dave....Bravado Dave! Licensed to procreate. OH YEAH!!!"

Are you visiting like? You're like Tex off Alan Partrige....but about Korea rather than the US.