E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Martin Alipaz / EPA file
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, left, and Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, right.
Updated at 6:55 p.m ET: Ecuador's president Rafael Correa on Twitter Tuesday denied reports in the British media that he has decided to offer Wikileaks founder Julian Assange asylum.
"Rumors about asylum for Assange are false," Correa tweeted in Spanish hours after the Guardian newspaper reported the president had already made up his mind. He said in the tweet he was awaiting a report from the Foreign Ministry.
Earlier this week, Correa had said he hoped to announce a decision on Wednesday.
An offer may amount to little more than a symbolic gesture since Assange, holed up in Ecuador’s London embassy since June 19, has no guarantee that he could escape United Kingdom arrest and fly to the capital, Quito.
Assange, 41, has been trying to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sex-crime allegations.
The former computer hacker, who enraged Washington in 2010 when his WikiLeaks website published thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic cables, says he fears he could be sent to the United States, where he believes his life would be at risk.
Assange is in breach of his British bail conditions and the British police have said he is liable to arrest if he steps out of the embassy, which is located in London's ritzy Knightsbridge area, miles away from any airport, Reuters reported.
Watch World News videos on NBCNews.com
It appears unlikely that the British government would give Assange safe passage to an airport as that would mean going against the Swedish arrest warrant and a ruling by Britain's own Supreme Court that the warrant was valid, Reuters reported.
Earlier Tuesday, an official in Quito, who is familiar with the government discussions, told the Guardian, "Ecuador will grant asylum to Julian Assange."
A WikiLeaks spokesperson, Kristinn Hrafnsson, could not confirm the asylum offer, Reuters reported.
"I cannot confirm. I just spoke to him (Assange) and he said he had not been notified either," Hrafnsson said.
Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said that Assange's grounds to request political asylum are that he thinks he is being politically prosecuted and that he Sweden will extradite him to the United States.
Patino, who has led Ecuador's analysis of the case, told Reuters the Andean country was also looking at how the 41-year-old Australian might travel to Ecuador if he is granted asylum.
"Beyond the international treaties, the right to asylum etc, and the autonomy or sovereignty the national government has to take a decision of this nature, we have to look at what will happen next," he said before an event in the highland city of Ambato.
"It's not only about whether to grant the asylum, because for Mr. Assange to leave England he should have a safe pass from the British (government). Will that be possible? That's an issue we have to take into account."
Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter
Correa, a self-declared enemy of "corrupt" media and U.S. "imperialism", said he sympathizes with Assange but also feels respect for the British legalsystem and for international law.
Assangehasnot been charged with any offense in Sweden or in the United States. Swedish prosecutors want to question him about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two WikiLeaks supporters in 2010. Assangesays he had consensual sex with the women.
This article includes reporting by Reuters.
Related stories:
WikiLeaks' Assange defiant over UK police request
NBC News partner ITV News's coverage of Assange: 'Not going near a police station soon'
More world stories from NBC News:
- Dozens killed in Afghan suicide bomber attacks
- Study: Japan nuclear disaster caused mutated butterflies
- Restaurateur claims Games cost her business $140,000
- On to Sochi: Virtual tour of the next Olympic city
- Will world inaction help al-Qaida gain foothold in Syria?
- Analysis: Egypt's Morsi shows he's a force to be reckoned with
- Vatican says the 'butlerdidit,' orders trial
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Good for Ecuador!
F you!!!
What makes Ecuador think it's immune from being targeted by these people? I'm sure it's got secrets just like any other govt.
Maybe he can do tech support there.
Maybe we should buy stock in any company that sells chastity belts in Ecuador. If this POS ever makes it out of Britain no woman between the ages of nine and fifty-nine will be immune from his selfish predations. I hope that the POS dies in prison of AIDS, he's spread enough of it around.
For a man who proclaims his innocence he sure is going to great lengths just to avoid answering some questions. Maybe it is because he knows he is guilty and does not want to end up in a Swedish prison. There are currently no charges pending against him in the US so his claim that he is afraid the Swedes will extradite him to the US are pure BS. He is just trying to avoid answering to the sexual assault charges that have been made against him because he knows he is guilty. Ecuador should be embarrassed that their president would buy into Assange's bull and grant him asylum. Providing asylum to someone trying to avoid charges of sexual assault is truly low and beneath any reputable leader of any country.
Ecuador is making a huge mistake. This man is innocent and he is running away. I hope the US picks him up in transit. He deserves to sit behind bars for the rest of his life. He is guilty of receiving stolen government documents. Just because it was the US doesn't make it right. You just can't go obeying the laws you want to. He is guilty and needs to be brought back to the US.
....and Assange gets to decide what are valid secrets?
This rabbit-haired POS wont have a happy ending. He put good servicemen and women in a bad position with his egomania. And as far as ecuador goes, its a small matter. They are a corrupt socialist system and those systems rarely survive the current leader.
Isn’t it interesting to see how a once brave “fighter” for truth, openness and justice has to hide from the very thing he is supposed to represent. If he is innocent he should face the Swedish court and walk free, otherwise he should face the music like anyone else would.
As for those who think he was doing the world a favour, you had better think again. He was doing it for his own glory and nothing else.
An innocent man would face the music, you say. Not if it's all a set up and the outcome has already been decided. The sex allegations are preposterous as anyone can see just from reading the report. Two grown women in their 30s pursue Assange and then invite him to stay in their apartments. They say he was not aggressive, he just mesmerized them into taking their clothes off and having sex and because he had sex without a condom, it's considered rape.
If Sweden had been serious about these charges, they would have questioned the man when he was in jail and pressed charges. But as of this date, there are no charges against Assange.
Classified information is leaked to AND printed all the time by the media and chosen authors. The stuff Assange printed wasn't even top secret but it did reveal some petty stuff We the People have a right to know as to how our govt operates in our name.
You write in this forum because you think you know something worth sharing. But as any of your elected officials could tell you, you don't know a darn thing because you are intentionally kept in the dark about almost Everything.
If he has enough cash left he can buy assylum in EQ if not the entire country.
England is waiting for this guy.As soon as he tries to leave the embassy he will be arrested.The charges against him in Sweden are serious. He has also seriously viiolated his bail agreement with England,He must face the music in Sweden.If he is acquited then he can ask for asylum in Ecuador.This Solange is a thief,and an exhibitiionist ..Meanwhile offf to Sweden you go!!
Aaaagh, for the old days.....when the CIA would have made this scum disappear in the night---no matter where he was hiding......before the days when Clinton "threw our 'TOP SECRET' stamp away"...
JS in SD
There are currently no charges pending against him in the US so his claim that he is afraid the Swedes will extradite him to the US are pure BS.
Is there something wrong with you, or are you just slow getting to the end of a plot? No charges today doesn't mean no charges tomorrow.
Governments are afraid of the truth being made public and they're doing everything in their power to silence those who speak it. Simple as that.
Some of these posts seem to think that Julian Assange is running from a rape trial in Sweden. He's not. It's not simply a matter of "if he's innocent (of the rape charges), then he has nothing to fear and should just go to the court". The rape charges are a setup in order for him to be brought to Sweden, where he can be extradited to the US to face some really lame espionage charges. That's what he's worried about.
Give us your tired, poor, Nazi, Terrorist, Assange or Assad, We'll take them all as we need to money and have no values. Come on down ya'll and rest a spell. Just bring you checking account.
IXLR8:
Perhaps you are ignorant of the U.S. spiriting away Nazi's after WWII, in order to make use of their "talents"? (that's a rhetorical question anyway).
Perhaps you are ignorant of the fact that Assange offered to be questioned in Britain by the authorities? (another rhetorical question)
Perchance you are unawares that Assange has not actually been charged by Swedish authorities? (yes, another rhetorical question)
Might I humbly suggest you endeavor to educate yourself further on the above subjects? It might better prepare you to opine and offer thoughts which are based on factual information as opposed to simply displaying a mainstream media inspired Pavlovian response.
bic, you said nothing but I am entitled to my opinion.
Ivan, you added nothing to the article either but were more long winded pretending to be an authority on the subject.
He committed a crime and nobody wants to deal with his baggage. Just like the others you try to go to South America to die quietly. Case closed.
Perchance you are unawares that he raped two women? (that's a rhetorical question.)
Were you as kind in regards to Jerry Sandusky? Or is it okay to rape women as long as they're not children? (Those are actual questions.)
There you go Nickie and to the point. I don't know why people defend a douchbag.....
"Perchance you are unawares that he raped two women? (that's a rhetorical question.)"
Actually, he's "accused" of raping two women. There's a difference between an alleged assault (i.e., reported in the media based on unsubstantiated allegations) and an actual assault (i.e., based on facts weighed by a judge or jury in a court of law and determined to be true beyond a reasonable doubt).
What makes the allegations more "factual" than Assange's publicly stated defense? He claims the sexual encounters were consensual.
What, you've never heard of someone making false allegations based on personal and/or political vendettas? Until he's found guilty, or until all the facts come out, I'm inclined to believe his side of the story, just as you're inclined to believe the alleged victims' side of the story. Either way, he's only been accused. "Innocent until found guilty", right?
After what happened over the last 12 years, I am shocked anyone has faith in the US Justice system, that Assange would actually get a fair trial. He should avoid the US because there is no justice in the US (only if your rich of course).
See Bradley Manning's treatment at the hand of the US Government, in solitary confinement, no trial, being forced awake for 23 hours, etc. etc. etc, and for what? He made public a war crime by the US that the US Government covered up and that is exactly Assange's so called crime would be, but of course they would make up any BS thing to put him in jail.
If he did nothing wrong why is he afraid to face his accusers, he sure acts like a guilty person, like they say if it walks and quacks like a duck must be a duck !
most likely because of the same reasons that the victims of the salem witch trials didn't want to face their accusers, and the victims of the other witch hunts that have happened in our nation over the time that the white man settled what became the united states.
Thats cool, send that little bastard down there. Just makes him easier to get too.
I am so glad that many posters think that Assange is such a great person. But whatever happened to consequences for ones actions? If he actually raped those 2 women - should he not stand trial? If he stole secrets from various countries - should he not be responsible for his actions and suffer the consequences? Or is it that you hold him above the law? Last time I looked, he did not have a halo, and he was doing his actions for a profit.
If you think that he should not be held accountable or responsible for his actions - who should be? Or rather - should anyone be held responsible for their actions? If nobody - please send me your bank account information (I promise to not rob you blind). And I will sell you a bridge in Brooklyn at a great price.
So interested observer, why aren't the people who committed war crimes and those who covered them up put on trial? Are they above the law? Whistle blowers on war crimes should be commended for their bravery not punished.
@Nicki
I doubt he raped anybody. It's too much of a coincidence that these rape charges happen to be from a country that will extradite him to the US right after he reveals US military secrets. He's being setup.
Sandmantruth, please provide references for Manning's torture.
Jay Fox He is avoiding extradition like a rabid dog. This tells me he must be guilty of his crimes. Not to mention those secret documents that I am sure led to a lot of deaths for giving up agents and informants. He can burn in hell!
@Njofaustinix
He avoiding extradition to Sweden not because he knows he's guilty of rape (I don't think he raped anybody). He's avoiding extradition to Sweden because Sweden will then extradite him to the US for espionage charges. The rape charges in Sweden are a setup to get him to a country that will extradite him to the US.
IXL8R:
Nothing of value? I suppose taking your statement and demonstrating its lack of value - which is rather self-evident to anyone educated - isn't adding value; It's exposing the lack of value inherent in what you said.
You mentioned Nazis, made reference to the inscription on our Statute of Liberty, rambled a bit about terrorists / lack of values.
All I did was to point out that your indignation over Assange is rather misplaced considering he has a) Not been charged, b) Not been found guilty, and as far as Nazis go, why the U.S. itself spirited quite a few away after WW II.
Your lack of knowledge pertaining to the above does not negate the reality of the facts.
As far as "adding nothing of value" - based on your lack of understanding of historical fact, I am not shocked that you would view such facts as "not of value" in so far as your ability opine, else your opinions would be grounded in reality and not simple buzzwords lacking substance.
No wonder Assange has NOT "leaked" on the mass corruption of the Ecuadorian Gov and the horrible prison system there as he is too busy paying bribes to Ecuadorian Officials at their Embassy in London. The great people of Ecuador would be much better off without the current despotic regime they have.
He could very well get first hand experience.
Kurt, I have a question:
Which does more harm globally and affects more people? The corruption of Ecuador or that of the United States?
In so far as bribes go, are you aware that the the next Presidential "election" in the U.S. is predicted to cost $2 Billion? That's excluding the costs associated with: 100's of Representatives, 100 Senators, and 50 governors.
Where do you think that money comes from?
Care for a side of Iraqi WMD with your faux outrage over Ecuadorean corruption?
What kind of buffoon would have faith in the USI's Justice system after seeing the treatment of Bradley Manning? Some will claim that "he released classified information" but that is an invalid argument since war crimes should never be kept classified. Just let that settle in. The United States government is keeping all its crimes classified.
I am sure what Manning reported on is the tip of the iceberg. The USI walks around screeching when other governments commit war crimes, but probably has more swept up under the rug than the rest of the world combined since WWII. Look up the definition of hypocrisy.
Sandman - let's see what we can do with the word 'probably'...
My sources tell me that you have probably sexually abused children - does that make it true?
My sources tell me that you have probably stolen from your employer - should you be terminated immediately?
My sources tell me that you have probably send money to Al-Quaida - should we have you arrested and sent to Guantanamo?
What is good for the goose is good for the gander...
What a ridiculous assertion; there is proof that many crimes have been committed, but the volume is so great that it has become hard to keep track since the US does not count the bodies of its victims, like it should according to the Geneva Conventions. There is factual evidence that war crimes have been committed and efforts have been made to covered them up (does Abu Ghuraib ring a bell?).
What is in question is not the act itself (like you make it out to be), but the volume over the course of almost 60 years. It just shows you are a product of media propaganda and lack the capacity for critical thinking, but have a better capacity to spin.
very true! Correa (the Ecuadorian president) has practically becomes a dictator. He's almost totally abolished the freedom of speech and free press. He dissolved congress so no one can vote against any law he passes, no matter how stupid or ridiculous the law may be. I'm sure Assage is becoming "buddy buddies" with Correa!
Julian Assange has not jeopardized anyone. Just the secret world of government's back door shennanigans. The Brits should let him board a plane.
Not quite true, his actions have put a lot of people in danger. You may not like the CIAs of the world, but like our soldiers, our bombs, and our drones, they do help keep us safe and somewhat free. Assange played with fire, and got burned. He know what he was doing, and now he is paying the price.
He's disclosed unedited diplomatic cables, which HAVE alienated and embarrassed US friends in foreign governments and endangered people, from Germany to Iraq. It has probably resulted in deaths of informants in Iraq. It has made it more difficult for our diplomatic corps to operate, thus increasing the risk of conflict at many levels.
The net result is grievous damage to the United States and many of its allies.
Were any great misdeeds unveiled by this? No. He took it upon himself--along with other disaffected misfits--to be judge, jury and executioner on others.
And when it comes to being handled with some semblance of a legal SYSTEM, a system democratically created over hundreds of years and refined by experience?
He flees to an insignificant country run by a populist who has flouted international agreements and conventions. A Hugo Chavez, ostensibly without as much corruption.
Julian Assange is a bully and a coward, and very likely is a rapist.
That information is not true. Correa has not announced his decision either way. This is just the CIA trying to corner ecuador. Hope assange gets aslum in ecuador. Its so easy for the financial and world powers to destoy anyone who gets in their way. revolution is coming.
How soon we forget the outing of V.Plame[CIA operative] by our own top government officials, an individual that was countering their info about enriched uranium being mined for Iraqs' "Weapons of Mass Destrution" that were never found.
And his possible sex crimes, they should just be forgotten?
To those who attack Assange because he "put lives in danger":
I have a question: Assange exposing what the U.S. is up to puts people in danger? What about the people who implemented the policies leading to the acts Assange exposed?
Oh. I see. That's different. Let's go after the guy who exposed the BS the U.S. does -- under the guise that "it puts people in danger", while giving a pass to the people and policies which actually led to the U.S. "putting people in danger" in the first place and which have harmed millions.
I get it though. Look around.
Green Day, "American Idiot" comes to mind.
And for those who consider themselves progressive and support Obama:
The guy who did the above is going to oppose the 1%? Unreal.
Green Day is more relevant than ever.
/rantoff
Duval:
Sex Crimes?
Can you name the court Assange was convicted in please?
Or - and this is even easier - can you let me know which Prosecutor in Sweeden has brought charges against Assange? Not convicted - just charged?
I'll answer for you: You can't. There are no outstanding charges for "sex crimes" - there is a desire to question him, neither charges nor conviction exist (perhaps in China conviction comes before charges).
Johnathan: >>>>>>>>>>>> Two women have said that he raped them. What is wrong with Swedan questionbing him about what these two women have said? Should their statements be automatically dismissed just because they are women, or because Assange is somehow beyond the law? For the record, both women admit that he had protected sex with him with their consent, but they both say that later in the night he awoke them from sleep by entering them suddenly, without protection and without their consent to forego protection. Under Swedish law, having sex with someone without protection, without consent is RAPE. period !!! Johnathan, please explain to me why, by your lights, Assange is beyond the law.
Put a bullet in his brain the minute the weazel walks out of the embassy, I will pay for that on pay per view.
Funny, I heard the same thing said about you, desert-pile.
i would fund the video.
Agreed. Take him out.
TAKE IT !
Transparency, honesty and respect for freedom is what America stands for,....let's get back to the basics and walk and the walk,....we're bigger than this dude
Yes, but not in Mr. Obama's neighborhood.
Niki,
I'm hoping you feel equally repulsed by the lies Bush engaged in (WMD Iraq?) and the big-government agenda he pushed (Patriot Act? Homeland Security?).
Otherwise, your criticism is nothing more then the fruit of the partisan tree, one side of which is "Right" and the other "Left", but the vulture sitting on top and laughing (the 1%) doesn't care which side you like best.
@ Niki-440757 "Yes, but not in Mr. Obama's neighborhood."
I agree.....it's interesting how BO would let this guy remain on the lamb, but refuse to cooperate in the Fast n Furious debacle....
Perhaps Obama feels the same way about Assange as Bush did about Osama: "I'm not really worried about him".
Why all the fuss about secrets when we were promised a "transparent government"? Unless the Obamacare bill had a tackon that changed the definition of transparent, the promise was not delivered on. There should be no secrets from the citizens that pay the taxes that keep the government funded.
So you want our enemies to know all our defense secrets?
Obama will never find out if we keep it away from his teleprompter.
This guy is a traitor plain and simple. He will get whacked .
He can't be traitor...he's not from the U.S.
Educate yourself, he can not be a traitor as this is not his country. Read the definition and learn before you write.
Yes, he's not a traitor.....but, he is guilty of espionage against the USA.....and the punishment for that is always death....
We tried him already, where was I? There have been many spies caught in our country and they almost always seem to be traded back to their own countries. Can you tell me when was the last time we executed someone in the recent past?
Just another useless promise that a South American dictator does not have to or intend to keep.
they should sneak him out in a disguise, sherlock holmes style. then get him on a boat to west africa and he's home free. lol, good luck.
He can start teaching Ecuadoreans how to be good hackers. Or, better yet teach them how to hack into Ecuador govt websites, etc. Quite a talent he has but no moral of course.
Boxing Assange? I rather like the thought of that.
Assange is a worthless POS who could only 'get some' by forcing himself on women...face it, he's a rapist.
...if he was innocent he would return to Sweden to clear himself of the charges...
...his cowardly act of hiding in a foreign country's embassy speaks volumes as to his morals & guilt...
....just another perfect example of European liberal progressive pond scum...
"European liberal progressive pond scum"? The guy is Australian.
Rapist? The charge is for constual sex without a condom...which is stupidly illegal in that country.
consensual sex w/o a condom is how the charge was written, supposedly because he did not put one on when requested, which they consider rape. I would tend to agree with that, if it occurred, as there is a possibility of pregnancy and/or transference of a STD.
ProIndividual <___> Please explain to me why forcing oneself into a woman without her consent is, in any shape or form, alright. Granted, both women had already consented to the sex, neither of them deny that, but both had specified that he use a condom. Therefore, both in logic AND UNDER WRITTEN SWEDISH LAW, the acts were rape.
Proindividual...not sure where you got yourfacts from, but that is NOT the charge. (Not that having sex without a condom when the woman says you must is NOT rape..it is.)
Here are his charges, which are a hell of lot more than "sex without a condom" and not all were consensual in ANY way....
There are four charges: that on 14 August 2010 he committed "unlawful coercion" when he held complainant 1 down with his body weight in a sexual manner; that he "sexually molested" complainant 1 when he had condom-less sex with her after she insisted that he use one; that he had condom-less sex with complainant 2 on the morning of 17 August while she was asleep; and that he "deliberately molested" complainant 1 on 18 August 2010 by pressing his erect penis against her body.
OK, ralebol, I stand corrected,
He's Australian liberal progressive pond scum.
Somebody needs to read up on international law, before they start writing articles...
Under the terms of the 1961 Vienna Convention, diplomats, and the "diplomatic pouches" (which INCLUDES locked car trunks - or "boots" as the Brits like to call them) are absolutely inviolate. All the Ecuadorian government has to do is either stick him in a locked car trunk, or, failing that, just appoint him to a temporary diplomatic post, and there's really nothing the British government can do, without risking a complete breakdown in diplomatic relations.
And are they going to cut that locked truck out of the car and somehow get it on a flight to Ecuador at Heathrow? The moment they open the trunk on British soil he's toast. Or accidentally shot while trying to escape. The temporary post might have a chance.
There are cargo planes that you can drive on.
And if they did that, THAT would bring about a complete breakdown in diplomatic relations for THEM...in every law abiding country.
I am not sure why you are under thedelusion that Ecuador is that hell bent on getting him. They aren't. They just said that hey would take him. NOT that they would risk their own diplomatic standing to sneak a rapist out of England.
When you have governments like the U.S., Britain, France and Israel threatening everybody that doesn't go along with their Imperialist attitudes. When said gov'ts lie about everything from Afghanistan to 9/11 to 7/7 to Iraq to Libya to Syria to Julian Assange, it is people like Assange that we need to hold these criminal governments up to scrutiny. Assange is a true hero, not like these mindless bigots that make up the armies and so-called intelligence agencies of said governments. One can only hope that we will continue to get people like Assange to blow the cover off of those a**ho**s.
At what point did you choose to leave the real world behind and exist solely oin your own fantasy world?
Assange was about to release more information about our corrupt banking system which does more harm than all terrorist combined. We know our government gives them a license to steal our people blind.
Our big banks have been getting billions in 0% loans and using that money to drive up the price of oil and other essentials. They manipulate our equally corrupt commodities exchange. Everyone knows this and nothing is done to stop the pigs. Also, why should anyone pay a bank 600k for a 200k house when the loan is guaranteed by the tax payer?
All government guaranteed loans should be made directly for a small interest. This would cut house notes by half or more leave trillions in the hands of our people instead of thieving banks. It's past time for this prostitute government to start serving the people. We should demand that we quit sending our troops all over the world to protect big money interest. Any information that points out our wrongs seems to offend many. Had we rather be like the three monkeys that saw, heard and spoke no evil? The fact is most of our secrecy is designed to keep the citizenry blind. The corporate and big money own media has kept the people ignorant of how the banking system works. I will never forget the financial commentators tell us the bank bailout was about auto and student loans and not about billions in the pockets of those that should be in prison.
Good luck to Assange. He will need it with all the pigs that want to silence him and any light of truth.
Julian Assange only needs to be in a sparsely populated location for a few minutes, which makes the jungles of Ecuador excellent for toasting Assange with a General Atomics MQ-1 Predator or MQ-9 Reaper aerial assault vehicle firing Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles . . .
The stellar policy of our great nation at the dawn of the early-21st century is that all our enemies are candidates for being toasted anytime anywhere on this planet, and due to a recent particularly fabulous legal opinion by U. S. Attorney General Eric Holder this includes treasonous American citizens . . .
The indisputable message to our enemies is that It might take a while to track you down, but when you mess with America (a) we will find you and (b) we will remove you from the known universe by the swift and intense application of advanced thermodynamic physics for the betterment and enlightenment of others, for sure . . .
For sure! :-D
statist ...you.
@ProIndiidual:
You wrote this:
This was a new word for me, and I like discovering new words!
Overall, I think that I am a bit of a statist in many ways, where I certainly am fond of Keynesian economic theory, which for reference is one of the only two ways to exit the current economic mess:
(1) global thermonuclear war . . .
(2) vast Keynesian projects to rebuild and to enhance the infrastructure of our great nation, including a national high-speed rail network, embarking on grand colonization of the moon and Mars, creating advanced robotic manufacturing capabilities, and of course doing plenty of creative arts projects for the betterment, enlightenment, and entertainment of others . . .
And for reference, the last time the economy was in such disastrous shape, it required several rounds of (1) and (2) to get the economy back in black , where it is important to understand that the majority of the global thermonuclear "wars" actually involved nations nuking themselves, with the exceptions of the British who routinely nuked Australia and the French who routinely nuked their colonies but never themselves, although for a while we behaved as badly as the French, but then we had an epiphany and switched back to nuking ourselves, where the total number of nuclear explosions for all countries starting in July 1945 with the first US nuclear test ("Trinity") is a bit over 2,000, with the most recent self-nuking being done by North Korea in 2009, which did very little for the economy anywhere, but so what . . .
So what! :-D
A bannana republic dictator/"elected" president for life is exactly the kind of person I would expect to harbor this human debris. The only up-side to this is that the Crown will never let him get there. On the other hand maybe they should let him get there. It would hardly cause a diplomatic incident if we sent Navy DEVGRU or army CAG operators down there to a country that already hates us and has as much international clout as a junebug and "extradited" him to the US. Maybe he would resist. We can only hope.
If he is not a rapist, why not go to Sweden and get the whole thing straightened out?
becuz it's a cia funded setup
The accusers have changed several times in the details of their stories. The Swedish courts do not consider the evidence strong enough to charge him, yet insist on questioning him in Sweden, rather than send a prosecutor to Britain to interview him.
This makes it obvious that the whole intent is not to question Assange about the rapes, which they could do in Britain, but to get him to Sweden from where the US could extradite him on charges of espionage. Apparently the extradition treaty between GB and the US does not include espionage as an extraditable offense.
Let's not forget Assange's list of prominent Americans with secret Swiss accounts.
That list would just about empty Congress and leave maybe one Justice in the SCOTUS.
It IS something to see the ghouls, tools and fools want his blood... You got to hand it to the Party...they know how to drive the lemming herd.
... Folks actually believe he caused harm... because Obama told them so... incredible!
he's not american
Where does that come from? He didn't say he was american.
true... he's not... but he did have a list of prominent Americans with secret Swiss accounts. .. and he may well die for it.
Look at this mob... the Obama administration once said they would be warning folks that their names might be on a wikileak report... and folks here want him killed.
No one ever even tried produce a single name he supposedly mentioned... There's no need.
Americans want him dead because we believe in government over rule of law.
Did Assange really rape those women? What does Assange have to fear if he returns to Sweden? If he is innocent, will he be framed in retaliation for these leaks? He obviously stepped on some big toes with those leaked cables...
He is wanted for questioning in the situation that he did not wear a condom in consensual sex. Neither woman is now in Switzerland.
There has never been an accusation of rape.
That's just Party propaganda
Yeah, but are they in Sweden?
Sad. That's what happens when you go against the Machine. Also, it's convenient to forget how the Wikileaks website was "crashed" after those leaks.
oh yeah...Sweeden...heh
Wouldn't it be possible to sneak Assange out of the embassy in small pieces so no one notices?
Ah, I get it... if he enraged the Obama administration, he must die. Got it, I'm good.
More like the Big Brother administration. The president is just a puppet.
well, yeah... maybe... but the folks who want Julian Assange dead are the exact folks who would never ever believe a word Obama said... unless the Party told them to, of course.
Whatever power wanted his list gone, does surely know how to incite a mob.
I hope he can slip out of the Embassy and get a flight there. Maybe then we can get to see who had huge amounts of tax-free hidden monies in off-shore banks. I heard and believe Wiki-Leaks had documents pertaining to Americans including Politicians that had vasts holdings in banks in Switzerland , Bahamas , and the Cayman Islands. I also believe that that's the reason why the USA has such a hard-on about putting him on trail. Because the things that Wiki-leaks revealed didn't put anyone's life in danger nor did they reveal any American Top-Secret Intel . Just a big ole case of the "Red-Ass"... embarrassment !..PS Let Manning GO !
What woman would have consensual sex with him?