Mickey, you have been either playing or watching "Hitman" too much...

Clearly the charges are a retaliation for his expose of the powers that be. It takes either a stupid or sick mind not to understand that.

Julian Assange hasn't even been charged with a crime in Sweden. They are going through all of this for "questioning". It's unnecessary though. As long as you're in the United Kingdom, you don't need to be in the requesting country for questioning. It's obvious, if successful, after this ridiculous and unprecedented process, they are planning to extradite him to the United States.

What the United States, English, and Swedish governments are doing is deplorable.

Trollnuc

a person accused does not have to prove he/she is innocent the state has to prove guilt. That is what courts and justice are all about.

notaliberal,

"Mickey, you have been either playing or watching "Hitman" too much..."

Sorry, but I have never even heard of "Hitman". It's just obvious to me that anyone who appears in public like that and has enemies is vulnerable to a sniper attack. That's why even the Pope rides around now in a bullet-proof "Pope-mobile".

Assange belongs in jail

Mickey-1983943 wrote: "Assange would make a nice target for a sniper on that balcony"

And if a sniper doesn't take out Assange, it means....

Why should I care what he has to say?

Ecuador on Thursday granted political asylum to the former computer hacker who incensed the United States and its allies by using his WikiLeaks website to leak hundreds of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic and military cables in 2010.

Honest governments need not be embarrassed by leaked documents unless there is something to hide. Obviously these incensed governments have much to learn. Sacrificing the messenger is a sign of governments unwilling to learn from their mistakes and wishing to punish the messenger for speaking the Truth and thereby making examples for the rest to bow to force.

True case of retaliation by government. This is dangerous and calls for change.

assange has not been charged with anything. he is wanted for questioning, by a prosecutor in a different jurisdiction in sweden than where the 'events' took place, who was appointed after the 'events' took place. one woman, a wiki supporter, who claims unwanted sexual advances has said in an interview that she offered him a place to stay while he was in sweden. he stayed with her. she invited him to sleep in her double bed during this stay. she claims he one night woke her up and tried to have sex. do not invite someone into your bed, and then think what they may have thought was a crime. the two women making claims did so only months later. this all looks too absurd to be true. america is so embarrassed by the truth, of it's brutal hypocrisy all over the world, they only want to kill the messenger. that's all the government the military industrial complex barainwashed violent crypto fascist nation only understands kil-kill-kill!

jack from Jax, actually that is true in the U.S., but that is hardly true in every country (although the EU does also presume innocence).

In my opinion, at the very least, he should face charges for being in possession of stolen property here in the U.S. It is pretty clear he is guilty of that.

So America is illegally spying on its citizens and governments throughout the world but God forbid if the tables are turned by an individual with a hard drive..

And I suppose that the effort to expose Nixon in the Pentagon Papers was a crime too? I don't think so. That did the US and the world a huge favor allowing us all to see how corrupt this govt. really is. All of this is very reminescent of McCarthy and his commie witch hunt. Release Bradley, and end this . Any one of you so called veterans need to come to terms with this witch hunt and get over your selves. Our govt, in the US is as corrupt as any other govt that hunts down its own and then kills them by some so called accident. Figure it out......troops committing susicide by the dozens and still all of you bleat and pound your chest that we're just a bunch of good old boys.....Bullsh%t. Better look closer people....and you won't have to look to far.

Assange is a former Hacker...Do you people understand what that means? Assange intentionally broke into secure websites to illegally obtain information or disrupt the means for the company to do business. I don't care if it was a government agency or Build-A-Bear, it's still illegal and he should be prosecuted.

I find all the Assange support unwarranted and disturbing.

tefan, presumably is is man so he cannot begin to lecture to any woman about what she should think of do. I suggest that he finds a way to volunteer in an agency which helps rape victims.

As for WikiLeaks, if Manning betrayed the U.S. endangered the safety in any manner of her citizens, he is guilty of treason. The entire argument that the U.S. gov't should not have anything to hide yadayada is a red herring. If he believed it was his solemn duty to to expose anything, he should have done it legally. Instead, he chose to commit crimes hoping to go undetected and thereby saving his own hide.

I doubt Assange is eager to give of the attention all this has garnered. He is, among other things, a media whore.

@ Steve-1888700

Really? That is the best you got, lol.

US and any developed world "intentionally" broke into millions of computers throughout the world to obtain any data they want. Where are all the outrage?

You may also want to learn that the government of any countries perform more illegal actions than any individual or public organization combined. again where is all the outrage?

Assange is not going to be arrested for espionage. He is going to be arrested for questioning precluding a possible arrest for sexual abuse charges if it is found that there is reasonable cause. The charges did not appear magically as they were pending even before Assange's exposure of the documents he had Bradley Manning steal. At this point his act of applying for political asylum is strong evidence against him.

Bradley Manning is being charged with theft of military and government property and possibly espionage. If at his trial it is revealed that he was being advised and directed by Assange then further charges will be brought against Assange and regardless of whatever country he seaks protections in, well... people disappear and end up on milk cartons all the time so even Ecuador will not be a safe haven. His best bet would be Pakistan. They do have a knack at hiding criminals. Bradley screwed up and will never see freedon agains as well he should not. Spying and stealing for another countries citizen against our own country is treason.

The most dangerous thing about the wikileaks, and the one that really pisses off the US government in particular, is that the control of information has been shown to be a two way street by internet hackers.

That's why they they are going to such lengths to intimidate and find ways to punish both Bradley and Assange, to make examples of them.

Assange's basic argument is that governments have come to be super secretive even without real reason and in a world where information is the new currency, governments want to maintain control of information at all costs. What Assange has done is to demonstrate that the emperor has no clothes.

Just the fact that the information was vetted by wikileaks prior to dissemination to prevent any release of information that would possibly cause damage to military movements or to undercover personnel proves their integrity.

Here's a question for the more rabid anti-Assange folks: If a government which claims to represent it's people and requires their consent to govern, is committing war crimes or engaged in illegal activity in their name, should or should not the public have access to that information or is it just ok for a government to stamp the information secret and be able to sweep it under the rug?

KaptainCrunch

Assange is a hero of epic proportions.

Kinda like Moses standing in front of Pharaoh, saying "Let my people go!" in a stentorian voice? Naaaah. More like a little boy hiding in his room, thinking "If I don't come out, maybe I won't get a spanking."

And as we all know Denver Bill, that simply pisses dad off and the spanking stands a great risk of becoming a severe beating. Assange should have simply volunteered to waiver extraditions and gone and faced the charges being made against him. That's what innocent people do. At this point, until Bradley implicates him in the thefts, there are no charges against him by the U.S. so Ecuador gave him asylum based theoritically on hearsay by Assange and the end result being that he was actually granted asylum to prevent him from possibly facing rape charges by Sweden.

As long as you're in the United Kingdom, you don't need to be in the requesting country for questioning. It's obvious, if successful, after this ridiculous and unprecedented process, they are planning to extradite him to the United States.

Yeah. They have to get him to Sweden because Britain has no extradition process with the US, not because he is accused of a crime in Sweden. (sarc)

There are no charges against him in Sweden. There are only accusations by two women who claim sexual abuse. The Swedish prosecutor merely wants to question him about that matter. The prosecutor could have questioned him in Great Britain, but insists Assange come to Sweden instead. The insistence on him coming to Sweden makes him suspect that he will be extradited to the US on charges related to his Wikileaks activities.

Extradition treaties are very specific as to the charges for which a person may be extradited and vary between countries. The US-GB treaty does not include the Wikileaks charges, but the US-Sewden treaty does. Thus the pressure to get him to Sweden under the pretext of the rape investigation.

The guy is a nutcase.

@culheath - Well stated!

The cables leaked were an embarrassment because they showed how trivial our government acts...Hillary Clinton making fun of another women's clothes, etc... not exactly "state secrets," just emails that show the American people, who actually read them, how petty our elected officials can be, on our tax dollar (these were not personal computers, they are the computers that the American taxpayer has bought (essentially) and emails sent while our officials are supposedly working and getting paid with out tax dollars - no wonder the country is a mess?! - since Assange really did not let out any state secrets, I don't see why he should be punished. Usually hackers that infiltrate a government system - end up with a job, not jail time. (A job to prevent other hackers)

If he has charges against him in Sweden that are of merit, why won't the UK guarantee his safety to Sweden to face the charges?

Someone accused of treason and rape should not be given asylum.

Treason against Australia? What Australian law has he broken? As for rape he hasn't been charged with that either.

Mike-424215

Are you so ignorant as to believe that this is about a sexual assault charge in Sweden? I won't argue for or against what Assange has done with regards to releasing classified documents. The release of those documents hurts the country, but at the same time it is nice to know that our government is engaging in a world wide program of illegal assassinations and spying.

Only a moron (or a child) believes this is about the sexual assault charge. If Assange leaves that embassy, he's dead. The documents he released show that our nation is fine with killing innocent children and also that we are fine with hacking into any computer in the world to get the information we want. You think that same government has a problem killing some pasty faced Australian?

Yes round up everyone and put them up against the wall....

U Gotta Gun?

Yes round up everyone and put them up against the wall....

I hear that...

Yes, eventually, everyone.

To those of you who are belittling the women in this case, do you realize how damaging sexual assault is? I don't think you do. "Oh, they came forward months later which means they must be lying." Not necessarily.

Would the media please pack-up and go home. Stop giving this media-wh-re a mouth piece. He claims to be the voice of oppressed and yet at ever turn, even when given the opportunity, he hides behind others. He claims that he didn't rape those women - fine go answer the questions, take your day in court if neccessary, and if in the process you have to face questioning over the leaking of someone elses confidential files, then be a man and do it. Really tired of this whiney little twerp. Grow some brass ones and deal with the bed you made. (venting over - thanks)

KaptainCrunch: I figure that you probably never even looked at WikiLeaks to see what you are talking about!

I did a research project for a communications class and I picked wikileaks to show how dangerous a site like wikileaks. I hit the site for 3 months everyday and was so concerned with what was being revealed I watched it for another 3 months.

What I saw and that concerned be above everything else being posted was the release of the NAMES of informants helping with intelligence information in Afganistan, Irag, Iran, and throughout the world, and the release of American and foreign agents around the world.

THINK ABOUT IT since you think this a$$hole is your hero. Many of those informants saved a very large number of American Soldiers to still be walking this Earth! How can this man be a hero unless you are a Sociopath (which I do believe) and I will define the definition at the end of my comment. This F*cking degenrate, psychotic sociopathetic piece of @!$%# with the name Assange caused the death of hundreds of "human beings" around the world!

So, you apparently fall into the same catagory as Assange and I wouldn't be surprised if your name comes up in that news as the next serial killer of rampage shooter because you think this man is a hero. Either that you're just another troll who lives alone, can't do anything right, not working because you are lazy bumb who lives off others (self-centered), has a total disregard for others and a piece of sh1t just like this non-human thing in the article.

Here is the definition of you about you:

A sociopath is a person who has antisocial personality disorder. The term sociopath is no longer used to describe this disorder. The sociopath is now described as someone with antisocial personality disorder.

The main characteristic of a sociopath is a disregard for the rights of others. Sociopaths are also unable to conform to what society defines as a normal personality. Antisocial tendencies are a big part of the sociopath’s personality. This pattern usually comes into evidence around the age of 15. If it is not treated, it can develop into adulthood.

The deifnition goes on and on and none of it is good and I don't want to take up other folks time with a long commets. Look yourself up on the internet sometime. Oh, my name is Nick Donofrio and I live in Austin, TX if your down this way and want to look me up sometime. I'll give you a tour of the city!

Visible symptoms include physical aggression and the inability to hold down a steady job. The sociopath also finds it hard to sustain relationships and shows a lack of regret in his or her actions. A major personality behavior trait is the violation of the rights of others. This can appear as a disregard for the physical or sexual wellbeing of another.

Look you up sometime on the internet to define yourself because this definition of you goes on and on. My true name is Nick J. Donofrio and I live in Austin, TX. Come on down sometime and I will give you a tour of this great city!

Assange has a lot of nerve telling President Obama to do the right thing. A narcissistic egotist like Assange wouldn't know the right thing even if it hit him upside the head!

what's that new saying we have?

Don't worry big government, if you have nothing to hide. Mustsuck being on the wrong side of THAT equation.........LoL

Since the beginning of this whole debacle I haven't heard or seen any real evidence that proved the information published by WikiLeaks actually damaged the United States in any way. I know some American officials were embarrassed by the release of certain documents but that does not justify a government crackdown on the WikiLeaks publisher................ This attack on freedom of the press by our government makes me very uncomfortable.

I do agree that the soldier that sent the documents to WikiLeaks violated his military oath an should have received a short prison sentence and that's exactly what he did recieve. I think it's time that we release the kid with time served. Anything beyond that is just mean spirited and most fair minded Americans should recognize that. We all need to move on and so should our government, enough is enough.

Big Bob, you sound like a @!$%#ing Gestapo storm trooper. Go back to Nazi Germany.

BigAL, you say you have not heard or seen any real evidence. You most likely will not either. You do not tell your enemies what harm, potential or real, may have been done. I don't give a rat's behind what Assange and his misguided followers think. There are some things that we the public just do not need to know!

I disagree that Bradley Manning should be released. He knowingly and willingly violated the National Security Act at the very least. He should be tried by a military court for that offense and possibly others. I personally hope he is tried and found guilty of treason and rots in jail for the rest of his life!

whoknow

Mike-424215

Are you so ignorant as to believe that this is about a sexual assault charge in Sweden?

Only a moron (or a child) believes this is about the sexual assault charge. If Assange leaves that embassy, he's dead.

Had the U.S. or Britain wanted this potential rapist dead, he would be dead already. Assange will find his day in court regardless of whether or not his idiot followers like it. Should Bradley Manning implicate Assange in the thefts of military and protected government property, he will then again be extradited to the U.S. for prosecution as will anyone else that Bradley Manning implicates.

Only a moron (or a child) believes this is about the sexual assault charge. If Assange leaves that embassy, he's dead.

Only someone with a full body suit of tin foil actually believes Assange's claim the US is out to kill him. Or a moron. Which are you?

IF Assange was so altruistic over the Bradley Manning issue, why not offer to turn himself in in exchange for letting Manning go? He won't because he's simply some ego-maniacal tool using the whole US is out to get him claim simply so he won't have to go back and face a couple of simple charges that he claims he's innocent of.

How hard would it be to craft an agreement with Sweden that says if he returns there to face the charges, he has the government's word he won't be extradited to the US for the Wikileaks issue? I'm sure Sweden would agree to that just fine just to get this over with. Yet he doesn't even try that. The whole US extradition issue is nothing more than a smoke screen that he's using to keep from having to answer for the crimes he's accused of committing. Sadly there are a bunch of deluded tools on this board who actually fell for it. Tsk, tsk.

Dude, the wikileaks told Everybody w a hint of intelligence and a comp - what IS going on. This bro, and his brah - they probably going to die, but for a bit - they were, and already ARE, a Sword in History - knowledge IS POWER, right? and ignorance is um... Bliss?

Bradley Manning was not a protestor. He was in the military. Either you abide by military regulations or you are too cowardly to follow orders. How dangerous in war does that need to get? Assange is backtracking and he knows it.

Computer hackers do more damage than just divulge military information. If Assange put himself in the position of being a poster boy for computer hackers who get nailed...so be it. That was his decision.

Are we now a nation that plays on sympathies for those who can't follow orders when it really counts? That's what this is really all about. In the military, you follow orders or you suffer the consequences.

So you are saying that no matter what the military does a soldier is required to keep his mouth shut if ordered to?

I find that both reprehensible and insane as a policy because it bars any checks on military actions whatsoever.

Even the military doesn't agree with your proposition, a soldier is allowed to say "@!$%# you, sir." if the soldier believes that he is being given an illegal order.

Of course Bradley is a protestor.

Does this include the President? So let me get this straight, its ok for the white house to leak national security info, but not a PFC. He's got some good sh*t on these Governments. Now I wanna know what he has lmao...

Assange … what a megalomaniac! (He and his lawyer Garzon.) Totally callous for the lives of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people put at risk by his leaks solely to feed his bloated ego. How naive are those, so many, to believe this is about freedom of speech … it has been, and it will always be about the inflated ego of this parasite.

…. And Correa and Ecuador - what a joke! - to deem themselves defenders of human rights and freedom of speech when these are rapidly being suffocated and eradicated in their country! Ecuador, Argentina, Venezuela, et. al, … they are all part of the pathetic League of Angry Nations.

Let me get this straight..a sex offender is asking us to release someone who used his top secret clearance to release documents that put soldiers in harm's way?

and just so we are clear, here is the oath the traitor took:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Find the article that would have given him the just cause to release (hack) the documents. He broke the law and btw hacking is a civilian crime as well..

BC, does the President, take this same oath? I don't see them going after the Chinese, for hacking into our sh*t. The US, is afraid of China.

Even the military doesn't agree with your proposition, a soldier is allowed to say "@!$%# you, sir." if the soldier believes that he is being given an illegal order.

Yet Manning was given no such order. He voluntarily committed theft and voluntarily escalated it to espionage. Manning is nothing but a narcissistic thief that found another narcissist in Assange to massage his fantasy.

I wonder what the Ecuadorians think they're doing by providing asylum to a fugitive from justice. Do they think they can do this forever? Assange will eventually be captured so whatever the Ecuadorians are doing now will be for naught. Besides, what the Ecuadorians are doing by protecting Assange will have future ramifications for them.

As for Manning, Assange is simply trying to politicize this situation in order to deflect attention from his criminal charges, and his actions are those of someone that knows he's guilty. Manning, if found guilty should spend the rest of his days contemplating the consequences of his actions in solitary confinement.

BC-Patriot

Let me get this straight..a sex offender is asking us to release someone who used his top secret clearance to release documents that put soldiers in harm's way?

Tried and convicted him in your mind already, eh? There's a good example of respecting the constitution.

Besides, what the Ecuadorians are doing by protecting Assange will have future ramifications for them.

You do realize what that says about the entire situation, right?

Julian Assange wants to distract from the truth. He would like to some kind of social hero but is nothing but a lier, a thief and a coward. He talked Manning (among others) into stealing for him. He then published stolen information.(recieving stolen property) Austailia (his home country) will not help him. He fled to Sweden where he again got in trouble. He then fled to the UK. When they were closing in on his Lawlessness he again hid behind another country. He even tried to hide behind is momy. It seems its ok for him to pilfer in anyones business he wants and run from country to country to avoid legal repercussions although he changes tunes when laws don't suit him. Then he uses anyone he can to avoid the mess he instigated. Its funny he talks about a witchhunt. Isn't that what he wanted to do by releasing stolen information. What ever story he chosses that keeps him from taking responsibility for his actions.

I wonder what the Ecuadorians think they're doing by providing asylum to a fugitive from justice.

He's not a fugitive from justice, as he's not been charged with any crime whatsoever. He's wanted ONLY for questioning, questions which he is perfectly willing to answer. Just not in Sweden. Sweden has declined offers to question him in London. Now why do you think that is?? Obviously they don't want him just for questioning, and very possibly don't care about the questioning at all.

Britain shouldn't even have any care in this matter. He's not accused of breaking any British law. 2 countries want him so why do they care which one he goes to since he'll be leaving anyway. They should just admit the matter is only between Sweden and Ecuador and tell Sweden as much and respect Ecuador's decision to grant political Asylum.

How clever of this criminal -- he thinks. If you break the law for profit -- you scream victim. Isn't that like a sex offender blaming the child?

Wasn't it President Truman who said, "If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen? HO hum.

As for assange, just shoot the bastard!

COYOTEHUNTER, that so many share your sentiment for assassinations really demonstrates why he and Ecuador are correct in their actions and fears of the USA.

this guys crime is telling the truth to the world.the cockroaches that run the planet didnt like that.youre a true hero bud.keep up the good work

Julian Assange is no doubt the lowest class person on the planet, beside Mitt Romney. Imagine being hold up in an embassy in London, and the only thing you can talk about is the Untied States. He should try and deal with his own issues, not ours.

I wish this site would come up with a better way of collapsing comments. Don't get me wrong, there are a WHOLE lot of them collapsed that should be. Name calling, filth, suggesting shooting, death or demise of someone, but to have comments collapsed that are just somebody elses different opionion is crazy. If we can't get a moderator to do it, then if you just don't agree with someone, you don't have to try to get their comment collapsed. It's a discussion...people...not everyone is going to agree!

poisonivy

Do you do the same thing, when you get caught doing something illegal, do you say its not your fault because the Chinese are already doing it?

Now when I print it I hope you realize how ridiculous it sounds...

expat7

Britain shouldn't even have any care in this matter. He's not accused of breaking any British law. 2 countries want him so why do they care which one he goes to since he'll be leaving anyway. They should just admit the matter is only between Sweden and Ecuador and tell Sweden as much and respect Ecuador's decision to grant political Asylum.

Pecisely. Thank you.

Poisonivy....Yea he does, but it didn't mean anything to this potus, he's leaked more info than the titanic had.

As for assange, just shoot the bastard!

oh coyote, you are such a great example of why the USA has absolutely no say whatsoever about "human rights" anymore, since people like you absolutely don't give a spit about human rights except as a tool to beat other countries over the head with. you say "how terrible other countries are" , yet you and anyone that thinks like you are absolutely no better than the lapdog followers of tinpot dictators.

your spewing about "freedom" proves that the only "freedom" you believe in is the "freedom" to do unto others and split

...release Bradley Manning.

Sorry, Julie baby, that ain't gonna happen. Bradley is going to Leavenworth for a long, long time.

BC - Since when does a prosecuter wanting to question you make you a convicted sex offender? Isn't that quite a jump? I am actually pretty neutral on what Assange done in releasing documents. If they really were vetted, who has actually been endangered, other than questionable government activites exposed to the light of day. "I was following orders" is an excuse given by war criminals for years. It suddenly becomes ok, no matter what the US government is doing? I don't think so. I am simply a bit suspicious as to why the prosecutor did not come to England to question Assange instead of trying to make him come to a country where he can be extradited to the US. Smells fishy. By the way, Ecuador is NOT a country where they are losing their freedoms. You can check the US State Department's own website. I wonder if they even would have granted asylum if the bully Great Britain hadn't threatened to violate international law by entering the embassy to arrest him. My own reaction to bullies is to say %$#@ you!

anyways, Assuange did nothing that was actually illegal,( in the US) except embarass US. however, Manning deserves to pay for his breach of trust and putting many people in harms way

@BC-Patriot

Let me get this straight..a sex offender is asking us to release someone<etc>

You don't know he is a sex offender. At this point he is the "alleged" rapist. Further, those charges seem to have been manufactured because no country would extradite him for merely leaking secrets.

Does this include the President? So let me get this straight, its [sic] ok for the white house to leak national security info,

By that you are of course referring to Valerie Plame the CIA agent outed by the Bush administration.

If the government or the military or a corporation is engaged in an illegal activity then the members of that organization have a duty to report the malfeasance. Accountability is the only way to stop corruption.

ewent:

Post #2.1: "Bradley Manning was not a protestor. He was in the military. Either you abide by military regulations or you are too cowardly to follow orders. How dangerous in war does that need to get? Assange is backtracking and he knows it."

"Are we now a nation that plays on sympathies for those who can't follow orders when it really counts? That's what this is really all about. In the military, you follow orders or you suffer the consequences."

Ewent: I think you have the U.S. confused with Nazi Germany.

After WWII when the U.S. and other countries tried Nazi military and civilian officials officials in Nuremburg for what they had done they court (with many U.S. judges and attorneys for the prosecution) specifically rejected the common defense of many of the former Nazi's: I was just following orders.

Even in the U.S. military you don't have to obey an illegal order. That's in the military code of justice. Gunning down civilians from a helicopter or invading another country on false premises or on faked premises (as we have done) are illegal by international law and because the U.S. Constitution says that any international treaty that is debated and passed by both houses of congress and signed into law HAS THE FORCE OF DOMESTIC LAW as many of these treaties dealing with war crimes, etc have been, it is a violation of U.S. law, too.

"The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809.ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the “lawful command of his superior officer,” 891.ART.91 (2), the “lawful order of a warrant officer”, 892.ART.92 (1) the “lawful general order”, 892.ART.92 (2) “lawful order”. In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey Lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ."

ArchStanton,

Bingo and kudos.

Politico Journo

How clever of this criminal -- he thinks. If you break the law for profit -- you scream victim.

What profit?

Culheath 2.11

You said:

You do realize what that says about the entire situation, right?

It says exactly what it says because the Ecuadorians have intervened in an internal criminal investigation that they have no business being involved in. The British are legally bound to hand him over to Sweden.

Expat7 2.13

Play word games if you want but the facts are that if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy he will be arrested. He could also be charged by the British for eluding capture but I suspect when they get him, they will most likely send him directly to Sweden. Whether the U.S. will also want him is a story for another time.

Hey, Willy.

Wet Willy

Culheath 2.11

You said:

You do realize what that says about the entire situation, right?

It says exactly what it says because the Ecuadorians have intervened in an internal criminal investigation that they have no business being involved in. The British are legally bound to hand him over to Sweden.

And the Ecuadorans have granted him political asylum.

If the grounds of the Ecuadoran consulate are considered Ecuadoran territory, then I would image that diplomatic cars leaving the consulate grounds are granted the same sovereignty. Could he leave in one of their cars to be transferred to one of their planes and then taken to Ecuador?

Expat7 2.13

Play word games if you want but the facts are that if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy he will be arrested. He could also be charged by the British for eluding capture but I suspect when they get him, they will most likely send him directly to Sweden. Whether the U.S. will also want him is a story for another time.

No...that's the entire story right now.

Is this diplomatic skirmish a product of US pressures?

I think most would say yes.

Assange is nothing more but an illegal hacker & self claim enemy of the United States, Private Manning is nothing more than a traitor. Why doesn't he go to an Australian Embassy instead of a Ecuador? Um Criminal activities?

Let me get this straight..a sex offender is asking us to release someone who used his top secret clearance to release documents that put soldiers in harm's way?

Correction, accused sex offender. Government's like to drum up charges and demonize their enemies.

I'm torn on this issue. Assange is a civilian and part of the press. I'm all for freedom of speech. Manning was enlisted in the military and had sworn an oath. On one hand, manning should follow orders and uphold his oath. But on the other hand, if my government shoots up a bunch of children and innocent news reporters with a helicopter gunship, I want to know about it.

These wars were a disaster for the U.S. in many, many ways.

Roger Z.

What does Mitt Romney have to do with this.

I agree totally moonbeamracer, well said!

Forget what you believe, the man stole private contentby hacking into restricted systems, and has been indicted for sexual crimes against other individuals. Regardless of how you feel about free press and knowing what your government does in your name, the man broke laws in multiple countries, and should be held accountable for his actions. His current situation has nothing to do with our governments actions, and everything to do with his own. Irrelevant in this situation, but let me pose a philosophical question: Without accountability, what value does our Constitution hold?

Scott,

"Without accountability, what value does our Constitution hold?"

I agree. The public has a right to know, but that right is a limited right just as every right is. The public does not have the right to know everything. And I would just add to that, without the government's ability to withhold certain information from the American public, how long will our Constitution last? In this age where just about everything is computerized and where there are hackers out to get just about anything they can get, that becomes a question of major importance to our security. There has to be a balance between the public's right to know, and the government's right to withhold information for security reasons.

Wow Scott...that's a mouthful.

Forget what you believe

Huh?

the man stole private contentby hacking into restricted systems

No, Bradley Manning allegedly did that

the man broke laws in multiple countries

Allegedly...

His current situation has nothing to do with our governments actions

Are you that niave to believe that our government is not involved in any of this?

Without accountability, what value does our Constitution hold?

You are right, this is irrelevant. Our consitution holds no value at all in the UK, Sweden, or Equador.

Mickey-1983943,

Now that makes sense. We do not need and should not have access to everything. But we should know when our government is lying to us, and we should know when our government is putting the lives of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm's way for reasons they refuse to tell us, or them...or worse yet, on false pretenses.

Mark,

"we should know when our government is lying to us, and we should know when our government is putting the lives of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm's way for reasons they refuse to tell us, or them...or worse yet, on false pretenses."

Yes, I would agree with that, but there should be a better mechanism for finding those things out than having the information stolen and released to the public by someone with little accountability for what he is doing. That can be a dangerous way to learn the truth. Information should not be classified to begin with just to prevent embarrassment to someone and certainly not to cover up a crime. It's so stated in the classification guidelines.

Mickey...yes there should be a better mechanism. Suggestions? To my knowledge, we've gotten nowhere with finding out that type of stuff without those methods. The Pentagon Papers comes to mind...

Excuse me?! The publishing of the pentagon papers was not some heroic action of a reporter uncovering a conspiracy. It was if anything a childish prank by a rich punk who wanted to say "look what I can do " it's the equivalent of a 2 year-old painting with feces. Assange need a nice long jail term for his own personal development maybe then he'll learn to Grow up and not put peoples lives in danger.

Mark,

"The Pentagon Papers revealed that the Harry S. Truman administration gave military aid to France in its colonial war against the communist-led Viet Minh, thus directly involving the United States in Vietnam; that in 1954 President Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and to undermine the new communist regime of North Vietnam; that President John F. Kennedy transformed the policy of "limited-risk gamble" that he had inherited into a policy of "broad commitment"; that President Lyndon B. Johnson intensified covert warfare against North Vietnam and began planning to wage overt war in 1964, a full year before the depth of U.S. involvement was publicly revealed; and that Johnson ordered the bombing of North Vietnam in 1965 despite the judgment of the U.S. intelligence community that it would not cause the North Vietnamese to cease their support of the Viet Cong insurgency in South Vietnam." (Ask.com)

None of that was illegal, although many of the decisions would have been debatable. Whatever the reasons for not releasing that information might have been, that information was not being withheld from the public to cover up illegal activities. Presidents have a right to make policy decisions as they see fit. If the public does not agree with them, well, that's what we have voting for.

Mike...BS. The Pentagon Papers uncovered that the Johnson administration repeatedly lied to both congress and the American people. If you consider Ellsberg to be "a rich punk what wanted to prove what he could do, that's your opinion. But he gave a pretty solid insight, with proof, into what was most likely unconsitutional behavior, or at the very least, outright lying to us about a war that cost over 58,00 American servicemembers' lives...including one of my family members.

Mike Morgan-368007,

Do you think we should not know when our government allegedly commits crimes against humanity, places our troops in harm's way for a lie, and then not hold "accountable" the American leadership that lied and allegedly started a war based on faulty intelligence and "invented" intelligence; i.e. Iraq responsible for 9/11?

Where is the accountability for our corrupt leaders, that you want for Assange. I agree if he raped someone he should pay for that, but what if it is a ruse to get him back into the U.S. so we can rendition him, torture him, and place him a dark cell for the rest of his life.

We, the U.S. don't have a consistent legal system. Assange should stand trial if there is enough "real" evidence of his raping someone. Seems here it will be these two women's word against his. BTW, why did they wait four years to tell of their rape, and after the U.S. wanted him for Wikileaks; that brought attention to the corrupt polices and actions of the U.S., where no one in leadership has faced any "accountability" for alleged crimes.

Seems to me the evidence against of Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld is much more "real" and tracable (and confessed to), than Assange's alleged rape. Do you want to see Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld stand trial for alleged "war crimes", and now Obama too for following in their footsteps?

Who really put people's lives in danger?

Mickey...all that is well and good, but I never said anything about covering up illegal activities. From my post, as you quoted:

"we should know when our government is lying to us, and we should know when our government is putting the lives of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm's way for reasons they refuse to tell us, or them...or worse yet, on false pretenses."

Nothing in there about illegality...it's about honesty, or complete lack thereof. Disclosing outright lies to the American people, especially about matters of war...life and death...seems to me to be a highly patriotic thing to do.

Sure, mooracer....the ppl have a right to know - there should be NO secrets in government ? REALLY ?

Would it have been ok with you for the press to film Team 6 as it made its way to Bin Laden ? Government NEEDS to keep things secret; world politics is a dangerous and INTRICATE business. We VOTE for our leaders because we (are supposed to) have faith that their heart is in the right place...that includes keeping secrets. SURE, "inquiring minds want to know", but, just because you "WANT" to know, does not mean that knowing is what's best for the country, or the ppl IN it.

What is it about Freedom and Responsiblity inextricably linked some people don't get? You can have all the freedom in the world you want. But, there's a price for that. It's responsibility. You don't use Freedom of the Press irresponsibly. You don't hack into other peoples private lives without being labeled irresponsible...So now we have a generation of Twerps who want freedom to do whatever they damn well please ...all with Zero responsibility for whomever else gets hurt in the process? How's that Me, Me, Me First workin' out for ya' ????

What if someone leaked information about the 2 unfunded wars as nothing but to make the corporations become rich?

Will you condemn them the person who leak the information? Or will you condemn the one responsible for sending over 4500 American to die and wasted TRILLIONS of US TAX?

So many people talk about Assange and Manning as heroes because they uncovered criminal activity. So here's the question: what criminal activity? Where in all the garbage they released is there anything other than embarassing gossip? I have yet to hear allegations of a crime against anyone other than Manning and Assange and both of them have admitted elements of the crimes they are alleged to have committed.

As far as Manning is concerned, he broke an oath. That has consequences that were frankly spelled out for him long before he broke it. He earned his time in jail. There's no way he could have read the volume of information he released so he couldn't have known what was in it. He released it out of spite, not patriotism, because he released information he had no way of knowing how harmful it would be or who could be killed over it. Taking a petulant action regardless of consequences is hardly the action of a hero, although it might be to the Left.

It seems to me that equating Wikileaks with the Pentagon Papers is missing the point. In the case of the Pentagon Papers, you had a newspaper explicitly exposing untruths by the various presidents perpetrated on the people who elected them. In the case of Wikileaks, there is indiscriminate publishing of all things secret.

Governments need the ability to maintain secrecy about their operations, this has been true since the dawn of time. Bear in mind that releasing the information doesn't just inform people in the US, it also informs avowed enemies about US operations, personnel, etc. If you don't beleive any secrecy about anything is OK then fine, - that is your opinion... but that doesn't make release of secret information any more legal.

So: Bradley Manning appears to have committed massive crimes within his own country while Assange - not American - has essentially attacked the US, therefore I think he should be treated as an enemy of the state in that regard rather than a criminal.

I do note that Assange's word means nothing as he committed to the UK court that he would not try to run/hide/... as a condition for being allowed to await trial & appeal in house arrest rather than in a prison.

Its funny how libs forgive libs for actions that they supposedly hate and protest against as pro feminist.

Bill Clinton ,, cheated on wife,, in the whitehouse with a bj and cigar sex. no problem

Jesse jackson,, humiliates wife ,, with a "love child" as he called it,, no problem

and not this character, Assage, allegedly rapes and assaults a woman,, no probem

Tiger Woods mistresses, porn stars who do gangbangs, represented by gloria allred,, well they are just making a living-- no problem.

So hypocritical when it suits them

moonbeamracer

If you don't believe in the free press and that as a American you have a Constitutional Right to know what your government is hiding .... Then you hate and despise him.

If you believe in the truth, Free Press, and our Constitutional Right to know what our government does in our name .... you respect him ...

Congratulations. If I were teaching a course on logical fallacy, I would include those statements as classic examples of the non sequitur.

--Hm HM--he did 2 girls in Sweden with out rubber, that is it-- so let us see how many high school parties where we have a few hundreds like this gentleman and exploit that--

The real problem, the underhanded lie like US government wants to keep that way, so they must go after people like him--just imagine how the government are reading all these statements here, and all you phone calls and where you drive every day, so they themselves can see how much people are getting up in arms about it or not, and in USA with now soon Mitt, at least all the 24 Million ex military people on here think it is ok to kill 1 million in Iraq for oil, (they were ordered to do so) so nothing will happen.--Or those would look a lot less than heroes, never mind the other 150 million here who are too busy on Face book (and not here on these blogs at all).--

PS--look at the testosterone adds right next to these statements--what do you think?--the companies and the government want you to think about nothing else but being a basic animal-----so they can operate in piece, without any scientific interference.

Our Government Has No Constitutional Right To Secrecy!

"A democratic society is an open society. Information about the society, including both the actions of the government and the qualifications and associated professional behavior of election candidates, must be available to everyone. The only exception to this is personal information, about individual members of the society, including its political leaders, which must be kept secret to preserve our fundamental right to privacy."

Kinda hate to mention this but there is no mentiona anywhere in the US constitiution about secrecy. Infact it appears the opposite is true. Without knowledge of government a country is bound to fail, its that simple.

"The power to withhold the facts of government is the power to destroy that government."
-- U.S. House of Representatives
Committee Report on Freedom of Information
(1976)

and has been indicted for sexual crimes against other individuals.

This is not true at all. He is not charged with any crime, nor has he been indicted anywhere. He's wanted only for questioning, which Sweden has declined offers to conduct in London. Why? He is not accused of violating any US law. He's not accused of treason, as he's not a US citizen. At least one of the females who complained have ties to the CIA. There are NO charges pending against him anywhere at all.

All considered, Assange has a legitimate fear of persecution (not prosecution), or even worse.

HIs disclosures, obtained illegaly, have put thousands of patriotic American who are putting their lives on the line daily to protect morons like you, in DANGER... Some things are better left unsaid. You need to lose the paranoia... Maybe put down the bong for a few..

Not one iota of this statement has been proven to be true.

What I find hilarious is the conservative backlash to Julian Assange, when they're the ones harping about how distrustful we should be of our government. Here we have the perfect case of someone who provides a platform for whistleblowers to show, wow, our governments really are corrupt as @!$%#! However, I'm up here reading comments about how he should be assassinated. Wow, what a bastion of freedom and accountability you guys are.

And when you have no other flags behind, you'll turn to the military and swear that somehow, our "beloved" military members are being put in unnecessary danger by Wikileaks, but when they're being sent into Iraq to deal with horrendous @!$%# for 8 years for no god damn reason, then there's not a pipe from you.

Please. You're the biggest hypocrites I've ever seen. Go sit in a corner and let the sane individuals discuss the matter.

Stuxnet and leaking the information about the bin Laden raid are security breaches that cause harm and damages to others. Assange is a whistleblower and the Obama administration has been the hardest administration on whistleblowers in many, many years.

Our government spies on its citizens, uses drones, internet access and a host of other means to invade privacy. Our government uses the internet to destroy other countries nuclear programs and then leaks that information? What fools and idiots those in our government truly are.

Manning was in the military, he is and should be held to a specific code of conduct, his actions endangered lives. Assange, while a scumball personally, does indeed have a role to play in a free society. If all we get is government propaganda masquerading as information we may as well be North Korea.

Interesting that the biggest leaks seem to be coming out of the White House and those leaks do indeed affect national security. Leaking information for re-election purposes is treasonous.

It has been the same story throughout human history, that whistle-blowers and non-violent leaders working for the betterment of mankind have ALWAYS been persecuted and ultimately killed.

Sadly, Assange will most likely join the saviors of the world such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Jesus.

"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." -Albert Einstein

@Sharktopussie

Putting Assange in the same category with those great men is disgusting. Interestingly enough, all three of those men refused to flee prosecution. They all went willingly and proudly to the punishment society thought appropriate for them. Would Assange do the same? Well, the proof is in the pudding.

jimp is EXACTLY right, assuange is a coward. he serves a purpose, and some that work with him (and are FAR better men than him) have been trying to review documents before releasing them so as to minimize the potential for actual people to get hurt or killed. ASSUANGE SAID HE DOESN'T CARE IF PEOPLE DIE FROM HIS LEAKS.

sharktopussie trying to equate the COWARD ASSUANGE to MLK , Jesus and Ghandi is utterly ridiculous. if assuange was so certain of his righteousness, he would go to the "wrongful trial" with his head held high!

I DO think our government can use some humility, and deserves to have its dark underbelly drug into the light, but people shouldn't die for it (regardless of which "side" they are on)

ewent:

Post #2.1: "Bradley Manning was not a protestor. He was in the military. Either you abide by military regulations or you are too cowardly to follow orders. How dangerous in war does that need to get? Assange is backtracking and he knows it."

"Are we now a nation that plays on sympathies for those who can't follow orders when it really counts? That's what this is really all about. In the military, you follow orders or you suffer the consequences."

Ewent: I think you have the U.S. confused with Nazi Germany.

After WWII when the U.S. and other countries tried Nazi military and civilian officials officials in Nuremburg for what they had done, the court (with many U.S. judges and attorneys for the prosecution) specifically rejected the common defense of many of the former Nazi's: I was just following orders.

Even in the U.S. military you don't have to obey an illegal order. That's in the military code of justice. Gunning down civilians from a helicopter or invading another country on false premises or on faked premises (as we have done) are illegal by international law and because the U.S. Constitution says that any international treaty that is debated and passed by both houses of congress and signed into law HAS THE FORCE OF DOMESTIC LAW as many of these treaties dealing with war crimes, etc have been, it is a violation of U.S. law, too.

"The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) 809.ART.90 (20), makes it clear that military personnel need to obey the “lawful command of his superior officer,” 891.ART.91 (2), the “lawful order of a warrant officer”, 892.ART.92 (1) the “lawful general order”, 892.ART.92 (2) “lawful order”. In each case, military personnel have an obligation and a duty to only obey Lawful orders and indeed have an obligation to disobey Unlawful orders, including orders by the president that do not comply with the UCMJ. The moral and legal obligation is to the U.S. Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders, especially if those orders are in direct violation of the Constitution and the UCMJ."

I really don't know much about Assange... Other than what I've read about him... Take that with a grain of salt...

But I do know that there seems to be something real creepy about this guy... I just wouldn't want to be in the same room as him, nor would I want any family member around him...

The stupidity of the masses. You get concrete proof of how governments lie to each other and how much YOU$ government has lied to you and do't know it. Then don't vote if you are not really interested in what you are voting about.

Very intelligent Terry-Ca, I can tell you really thought alot about the issues and have some valuable input.

Did you watch the vidwo of the gun ship chopping up innocent civilians for no real reason? Does that make you feel "creepy" Naw, afterall, you were not in the same room with them right? not even the same continent, so I guess it is meaningless for you. What a wonderful human being, makes me proud to call you a fellow American, great flag ya got there

Assange and Bradley have become 'folk heroes', like Bonnie and Clyde or Butch and Sundance and the fact that those people were outright murderers and thieves is always conveniently forgotten by their idiot admirers!

Assange is a pathetic little rapist and is trying everything to turn attention away from that fact by making it seem as though he is only concerned about Bradley.. Sorry, you loser, it isn't going to work.. Stand up and be a man for once in your meaningless life and go to Sweden! If you didn't commit the crime then prove it!

Britain should just kick Ecuador out of their country, go in and arrest Assange and pack him off to Sweden, period!

Greg-1998220 - LMAO!

I agree with you that many of these "flag-wavers" make ignorant, ill-informed comments. Guess that makes me "unpatriotic".

Rush Limbaugh said it was OK to target and kill innocent civilians in a war, but I do not agree....

We need to be clear here - Bradley committed an act of treason (by the definition of the word). He gave aid to the enemy during time of war. What the aid was is irrelevent. This person deserves the punishment given to military members convicted of treason during time of war. And since Assange conspired with him, he should receive the same. Since Assange wants to run away to the Equadorian Embassy, we should deal with him the way that we have dealt with 'bad guys' since the wars began - if we can't arrest him, we should enable him to see his afterlife.

And we should remind Equador that those who give aid to our enemies are treated as our enemies. Equador is a 3rd world nation who can be put further behind - if we made 1/2 an effort.

Bradley Manning is a US Army member who publicly released classified military intelligence during wartime... that's treason by definition and punishable by death.

He did not refuse to obey an illegal order.

He is not entitled to the normal rights of a US citizen.

It is likely he will do at least 20 years if not go on death row.

and rightfully so.

Ecuador is the world's saviour. "Collapsed by the Community" is a conspiracy- just like Lady Di and Elvis. I just saw them in Las Vegas for Pete's sake !

Mr. President Obama and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should probably share the same cell at Gitmo for the leaks. They both let classified material out to the public. They must really like each other a lot. They both put a lot of people in danger. Both of them have changed freedoms and outlook of every country.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange really needs to be put away for a while to figure out what really is right and what is wrong to do. It would not hurt for Mr. President Obama to learn more about the United States, our freedoms and beliefs as well. He panders and writes executive orders for votes. But from what I've learned about his outlook on life, he wants the good life (and has it forever now), but he wants the rest of the population to be equal as if everyone worked as hard as each other. Unfortunately, we are not all equal as to how much we work for success. There are some that truly are unable and I do feel pity for them. However, there are too many that just want the government handouts.

Please look into your hearts. Live life to the fullest. Work hard. Have fun. In my opinion.

Arch, Cpl. Bradley Manning wasn't ordered to gun down anyone.

He did swear to guard the secrets with which he was (so foolishly) entrusted and he betrayed that trust. His guilt is much clearer than Assange's as Assange made no such promise. Discovering that the US Army wasn't keeping its secrets Assange may have a case for publication. Who knows how many other organizations Bradley Manning offered his trove of secret cables to? Could anyone be sure none of them would publish?

It is a sad reflection on Army personnel policies that an openly hostile, homosexual malcontent like Bradley Manning could ever get near so much secret material. With all the benefits it offers, the Army seems unable to find anyone with basic computer skills and the ability to read, and must rely on such types as he.

Obama can leak what he wants because he is boss. Manning can only leak things that will help his boss (Obama) get reelected. Manning screwed up by joining sides with Assange. Manning chose poorly. It's treason when you sport the uniform of your own country and play ball with an enemy.

Assange is a punk, did his thing, has had his kicks, has been neutralized.

I believe that the government needs some form of secrecy to be able to protect itself from other governments and terrorist organization that wish to do it harm.

I also believe in free speech and the peoples right to know what their gov't is doing in their name.

BUT... If the govt was completely open about its actions,then there is no way for them to enact covert operations such as the one in which we finally caught osama.

I have looked and looked for the good that has arisen from the whistle blowing done by assange. Im all for whistle blowing if it shows that my gov't is supporting the violation of innocent civilians basic human rights. Whistle blowing for the sake of whistle blowing is basically just trying to get 5 mins of fame. I have binged and googled assange and wikki and cant find anything that he leaked that showed my gov't was just killing innocent people. IF SOMEONE HAS A LINK FOR ME TO LOOK UP THAT PROVES WHAT HE LEAKED THAT SHOWS THAT WHAT MY GOV'T WAS DOING WAS ILLEGAL OR MORALLY REPREHENSIBLE THEN I WOULD APPRECIATE THEM POSTING IT HERE SO I CAN BECOME A SUPPORTER OF HIS ACTIONS. Otherwise I say he was just leaking things that would get him his 5 minutes of fame and daring the gov'ts he was leaking about to do something about it,and he's now getting what he asked for. Did he really think that he could publish these documents and there would be no consiquences? He made his bed and now he has to sleep in it.

As soon as he steps foot out of the embassy I woud arrest him too. I would not however storm another countries embassy to get him.That sets a very dangerous pressident.As far as im concerned he's just as good as being in jail the way he is locked up right now and can stay there forever!

As for the rape charges, I don't know what happened as I wasn't there. Any lawyer worth his $$ will blindly proclaim his clients innocence and the only way for us to ever know the truth is through trial. If in fact they get him into sweden and there is no trial,just an immediate extradition to the U.S. then we will al know the rape charges were BS.

I do consider myself to be anti-big gov't and would like to know of any documents he eaked that show my gov'ts illegal behavior ie.. watergate, Iran-contra,or anything of that sort but i have been looking for days and can't find ONE instance where his leaks did some good. I have an open mind and would REALLY LIKE TO KNOW

ArchStanton has ir right...the Army intel analyst severely violated his duty to protect classified information. He should and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law(UCMJ). As for Assange, he and his employees, deserve whatever they get for their misguided intentions of exposing the backroom versions of events and the intents and interpretations of the actions that followed.

There have been enough previously documented revelations of such actions by governments in the past. This sequence of revelations was only aimed at using classified information to damage the diplomatic process of this country..."and as a result, to cause damage thereto"...which is in violation of our oath to "support, and defend (the laws of this country and) the Constitution of the United States of America".

Manning is a traitor, and Assange has aided and abetted that traitor...he is no better.

Supporters of Assange seem to be overlooking the fact he sought asylum to AVOID prosecution for sex crimes in Sweden,not prosecution for leaking secret documents .

EVEN if I thought he was a patriot ( I don't ) his personal behavior is creepy at best and he MUST be sent to Sweden for trial !

The guy is a accused rapist on top of putting classified communicates on the Web. He is no hero to anybody but the Chinese,Russians and Iranians.

Assange is so d*mn smart, he knows everything that is going to happen, before it happens to him. He Absolutely knows that Sweden will extradite him and the U.S. will try him and put him to death. He's positive, except for the fact he can't name an instance where that has occurred. He Himself is the Instigator of his martyrdom, except he doesn't realize to be a martyr, he's going to need to give himself up. Or kill himself.

Let's clear up a few errors of fact--Assange is Not an American citizen, He doesn't have Freedom of the Press. If he had exposed secrets in Australia, or in the UK, he'd still be a criminal. And He Knows it. He's not crusading for anything but himself. He is a ego-maniac, and a narcissist.

Manning is not any kind of martyr either. As was pointed out--he took an oath, he violated that oath and he released secrets to a foreigner. he's as guilty as Jonathan Pollard and all those other spies Israel paid to steal secrets from us. And he's going to try and hide behind 'I'm gay, I was oppressed". except he wasn't.

If you believe these 2 knuckleheads are heroes, you must believe Scooter Libby is a hero. You also probably believe Batman is real too...it's just a movie.

Nothing is absolute everything has limits even free speech and if you don't get it maybe you're to ignorant to understand it. NOTHING IS FREE neither is speech, if there are consequences was it free? if only your life is at stake I could careless but if there is a possibility other peoples life may be put at risk there is nothing free about it!

My comment above was collapsed by the community.

My freedom of opinion is obviously not appreciated on this topic ... LMAO

Thank you to all that collapsed my opinion above..

Even though I may be in the minority, my opinion stands.

Ironic, Now Asaange himself must try to keep himself a secret whilst he tries to "leak" out out of a secured domain himself... I wonder if any of his hacker friends can "break him out"?

We must have freedom of the press to survive free. But I believe that requires a responsible press, which we DO NOT have. Anytime lives are put in danger merely to get a scoop, our enemies just grin a little wider.

Assange is nothing but a self aggrandizing azzhole who leaked classified intelligence documents for no other reason than to make a name or himself. There was nothing in the intel documents released that revealed any wrongdoing by anyone. What Assange did do is reveal the names of US intelligence sources that resulted in at least one source and his family being killed by terrorists. This fact has not been highly publicized because the US does not want it widely known and send the rest of their sources running for the hills. It is however a fact that one Afghan civilian who was an intelligence source in Afghanistan was killed along with his family shortly after Assange published his name to the world. To me, this makes Assange complicit in these murders. Assange is no hero and the only thing he cares about is how much publicity he can get for himself. As for his current hiding out in the Ecuadoran embassy, if he was as innocent as he claims he would willingly face the accusations against him and clear his name. The fact that he has gone to such extremes to avoid facing these accusations clearly indicates to me that he knows full well that he is guilty and does not want to face the consequences. for his actions. For all his BS rhetoric, there are currently no charges pending against him in the US, so his claim of fears that he would be extradited to the US by Sweden do not hold water. If the US wanted him they would have tried to get him from the British who are much closer allies with the US than Sweden. Assange is a piece of @!$%# who cares about no one but himself. H should be tried for espionage related to the theft and release of classified information. As for Manning, he is guilty of treason for his failure to safeguard classified information and for releasing classified information to the public which aided the enemy. The only thing Manning deserves is a firing squad since, after all, treason in a time of war is punishable by death. That said, I doubt that Manning will be executed because political correctness will prevent it. He should, however, spend the rest of his life in prison at hard labor for his actions.

I have no doubt that Barack Hussein Obama would like very much to release Manning and Assange as all three have the same agenda... that is to bring the United States of America down a few notches! Hopefully someday Barry will also face the same scrutiny in the name of justice!

I find it strange that msnbc promotes pro assange comments and his demands to be allowed to publish secret government documents and at the same time deletes anti assange comments and the viewpoints of free American people.

There is a very good reason that government documents are secret. Diplomacy and all the asinine comments and reactions of governments and politicians have to be in secret so they can be free to discuss ridiculous viewpoints and come to an agreement that is publicly acceptable. If you make all those statements open to the public then noone is going to make the small disclosures and ideas that lead to major political breakthroughs.

I find it interesting that Assange did his actions publicly and now refuses to pay for the consequences of his actions.

If the man had balls he would go to the U.S. be charged and then get out on bail and release more information, claim the freedom of speech and walk away.

Obama/Assange 2012.

Numb3rTech,

your reference to the swiftboating of Obama is absurd....

1- the President clearly has the authority to release whatever he wished about the killing of OBL

2- I'm sure it would have been delayed if there were some way to exploit information gained in the raid

3- Unfortunately, a stealth Blackhawk crashed there, once that happened, unless we were willing to obliterate the entire site with JDAMs within the hour in Pakistani territory, the entire world was certain to learn we did it and all the network would scatter anyway.... so there was nothing to be gained by keeping the operation secret for any length of time.... end of story

so your comparison to Bradley Manning is totally in error.... Bradley Manning has been charged with aiding the enemy, a capital offense, and he deserves it.

some well funded guys attacking Obama with screwed up logic doesn't compare

Oldhamletman--so you are saying Obama is above the law? Or that he has no common sense? Or that he secretly hates the USA?

I would LOVE to see Julian Assange "get his" but not by means of a highly suspect rape accusation. From all I read, Assange's accusers aren't playing with a full deck--something that should have been obvious to Swedish authorities. At least one of the women hosted him at her home, invited him to her bed then turned around and claimed he forced himself on her though there was no physical evidence of any assault.

If any country in Europe is totally free of American influence it is Sweden. Moreover, Sweden has a history of public criticism of US policies going back to the pre-Vietnam era when Swedish sociologist Gunnar Myrdal coined the term "segregation" to describe how blacks were treated here.

HOWEVER, Sweden is a politically correct country, too. Way back in the 1960's it had a law on rape within marriage. Today, if a man just looks sideways at a woman he can be charged with some form of sexual assault there. And they bemoan their low birth rate and increasing reliance on immigrants!

Er...oldham, better go back to law school.

It's not "time of war". Only Congress can declare war and there has been no such declaration. American soldiers are dying each day but...this nation is not at war.

oldhamletman,

When they leaked the name of the source that gave us the location of Osama Bin Laden, that source was trialed and jailed for 30+ years. That would cause the United States to lose other sources that we have in the field. Losing assets like that, people with families, would definitely cause me to question the government here if I happened to be an asset in another country.

Obviously, we are being manipulated. Google Ed Bernays for starters if you want an eye opener. The thing to keep in mind is that it is a formula. Managing public opinion is a type of technology. Its not magic.

Disney is a good place to start. The Disney "formula"? remember? Story begins with no mom or dead mom. There is separation followed by reunification with the father?

Who is the father? Society. Who is the mother? Your own nature. Human nature.

What are they selling then? They are selling the society, or the machine over your own human nature.

Why? Because they thought that we needed to unify to defeat the Godless Soviets. Why are they still doing it then? I don't know. It seems like they just want to make US Citizens autobots for the elites now. I don't know. I have another theory ...but it will have to wait.

One more thing to anyone who give a sh*t. The "sex" part of any movie provides a type of reinforcement to the greater story. Anything to do with sex gives archetypal pulses of goodness to anyone watching. If you dont' think so, go back to your Carl Jung and you'll see it my way eventually. Thus, if your little girl ( I have three) are innocently watching a Disney flick and they inject sexuality into the mind of these children what is their purpose?

I'll tell you. Its obvious really if you think about it. Disney sells us the same formula of endless "Kings" and "princesses" and "princes" and servants and basically a feudalistic framework of top down societal structure.

Why? Why? Why? because they want us to be compliant to the central authority. They are threatened by Citizens. They want you to be a good citizens and if you play your cards right you will marry a prince! Unity with the greater society. Ooooooh. so cool.

Why don't they give us a cartoon story for children where the hero leaves his village, receives help from the old shaman who gives him a magic sword and then destroys the king completely and gives knowledge of the universe to the common villager? hmmmm....they don't do it because its not good for business and doesn't serve the purposes of the intelligence services who are scared to death of free thinking citizens, which is the basis for their attack on you and me and our children.

PLEASE. The next time you watch a movie think about propaganda. If there is overt violence OR sex coupled with an idea PLEASE PLEASE think about propaganda.

Case in point. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". This movie was incredibly violent. Yet it also had an idea coupled to it.

Now we know this was propaganda. What was the idea?

Two ideas that they have been pushing since the 1980's, beginning with "Alien Nation".

1. Coexistence with aliens.

2. There are bases on the moon.

That entire movie was propaganda. Designed to burn into your mind these two ideas.

Just saying. Watch out for CIA marketing....or at least see it for what it appears to be. IMO. Just sayin'.

This man is a hero to the revolution. You may not agree with what he did or how he went about it, but a hero none the less. We have allowed our leaders unrestrained secrecy for the sake of our freedoms, and in the search for our safety, we have lost our freedoms. Anyone who calls this man a traitor for releasing information that should have been released to the public, or should have never happened in the first place, should question whether they are on the same level as Benadict Arnold. I have to ask, Who did he put at risk? Did he threaten the US? NO! he gave the US a black eye which we deserved, because we were playing chicken @!$%# behind the scenes politics in foreign policy. Ron Paul is right! Dump the crap, and defend this nation.

John-737278.

You should be in the State Department. Iran could use a very good person in their State Department. Give it a shot.

Carl, You may try to equate me with being a traitor, but that is exactly what I argue. Who has Iran attacked in the last 50 years? And how many countries has the US? I think as rational human beings we should question motives, and not blindly follow our supposed leaders to the cliff. You may be blinded by propaganda stating that Iran wants to destroy the US, but I ask, how could they do this? You are living in fear that has been instilled, and are not thinking logically. In reality, Iran only holds animosity towards the US because of the kind of crap that Assange exposed.

Do all of you have to be reminded that the founders of the U.S. had to meet in secret and all their documents had to be hidden from the British? Had the written discussions of the revolutionaries been made public with the names of the patriots, they would have been hunted down, put in jail and hanged. The Declaration of Independence and all the signers would have been caught, and hanged for treason. What these people wanted, said and wrote was hidden from the British. Now the U.S. and its allies debate ideas, plans, secrets and most will be discarded but they have to "FLOATED" in secret and then some will be accepted. I remember during Nixon's term some adviser floated the idea that KETCHUP be counted as a vegetable for free school lunches and that was leaked to the press and it had its week or two of up roar. Of course it was just an idea to get free school lunches and how to make them affordable for the increased taxes that would have to be charged.

So we are back to that. If you go to your boss and demand a raise and discuss it with him, do you want the details of why you want a raise made public so the entire office knows about it? Your girlfriend is pregnant and you have to pay child support but you have no intention to marry her?

ofcourse1

Secrecy that you write of is only relevant if the the underlying secrets are in the best interest of the US. The question is are they, or are they not playing with internal working of foreign governments? Secrecy on a national level is national security. Secrecy in imposing our will around the globe is sticking our nose into other countries business, and undermining their rights to determine what they shall be. An entirely different aspect.

Trying to draw a comparison between what the the founders of the US had to do to guarantee secrecy and protect the country and that of imposing our will on foreign sovereign nations is quite another.

It's not "time of war". Only Congress can declare war and there has been no such declaration.

I think the entire GOP would like to disagree with you. Well, from 2002-2008 they would've liked to. They couldn't fall over themselves fast enough to remind everybody all the time that we were "at war". And when you dared to forget, they raised the terror alert up a notch, so you'd remember quick-like.

I don't fundamentally disagree with your assertion, but the reality of the situation is a whole generation will not understand what went down when we were supposedly "allowing the President to take action".

Baker, I was describing the legal charges which Pfc. Manning faces. He would not be subject to the death penalty even if convicted of treason.

Maybe formal declarations of war are passe. We haven't passed one since 1941 although over 100,000 Americans have died in combat since WW II ended.

john-737278 It is not for you or Assange to decide. What is finally resolved and revealed and acted upon is open to discussion and dissemination. But if the discussions are not held private and allowed to free range in secrecy then no one is going to talk or write anything. Eisenhower in his memoirs stated that the biggest mistake of his career as president was preventing the British and French from retaking the Suez Canal. Had those doubts been made public by Assange back then, who knows what might have happened. Anyhow it is not for Assange or a piss ant soldier to decide the fate pf nations. Assange wants to get into politics, let him run for office.

Sorry, but it is for every American citizen to decide. You seem to forget that "We" are America, and our government does not always work in our best interest. For instance, the cover-up of Israel intentionally attacking the USS Liberty in the sixties. How many soldiers have we lost fighting israels enemies, when if the truth was known, public opinion would have forced our government to tell them to fight their own battles.

This idea that you can release classified information "in the name of humanity" and not be prosecuted is BS. I have always wondered why newspapers who print classified information they receive from unnamed sources are not prosecuted for treason as well. IMO, they are co-conspirators and should be held just as accountable as the person who gives them the information. We certainly live in an upside down world.

Hey, John, tell me whose interest the US government is working in. Who is it who's secretly pulling the strings?

You and a few other enlightened ones know the truth. Share it with me, please.

Assange/Manning are not heroes. Assange is delusional. Every government is corrupt in some way. Every country has interests to protect. Manning stole documents. That is the fact. And Manning deserves to be labeled a traitor and tried as one. You can not go through life obeying some laws. What did Assange think would happen when he posted stolen documents? If he believes he did nothing wrong, then face the country you tried to screw over. Be a man Assange.

I have been cleared for top secret; Still, I am convinced that most of our secrecy is to keep the people ignorant.

Assange was due to release information about our thieving banking system that is given a license to steal by our government. This will get you in real trouble. Most of the wold already knows about our atrocities in the middle and far east. It's only our people that seem unwilling to face the reality that we are all over the world defending big money and corporate interest.

The Saudi royal family made 250billion off our rigged market while 401ks were tanking. The Emir of Kuwait has several hundred billion in that same market and connections with our big oil companies. Why else do you think we defend these absolute monarchs that run their countries like company stores?

We need all the light we can get on this government and the corrupt corporation and financial system that owns it. If we don't wake up and stand up against the insane greed and evil that runs our country they and their government will destroy America by driving us into depression and chaos.

Doesn't matter WHY a person is deciding to release top secret information. The fact that they are releasing it is the problem. One of our worlds big problems today is that we quit looking at people's actions and look instead at their intent... Hence, one person releasing secret information is a "spy" while another is hailed as a "patriot".... No, they are both guilty of the same crime, and why they did it matters not. Same with murder. Killing someone because you "hate" their skin color or their sexual orientation is no worse than killing them because you don't like fact that they cut you off in traffic. Murder is murder. Period.

Frank Morton--What is this "Assange was due to release information..."?

If he had such information (about the banking system) there was nothing to stop him directing his staff at the website to release it at once. It would not have been even a little bit illegal. Private entities, like banks, can't classify their information as the government can. However, if the information was account or credit card numbers. passwords, balances, well that's a different story.

I'll make all of you Assange and Manning bashers a deal. They can go to trial if you allow Bush, Cheney, and Rove to be tried for their lies and war crimes. Anyone???

John, are you taking money from the Ayatollahs? You certainly are parroting their line.

The release of the NSA intercepts of the Israeli Air Force pilots' radio communications--after 35 years--proved indisputably that the Liberty incident was a regrettable accident of war with mistakes on both sides, though you would never know this from the lies and slanders by "Press TV", the Iranian government's propaganda arm.

Iran spreads its aggression through proxies, the main ones are Hizballah, operating in Lebanon and the Syria of Bashar al Assad and his Alawite mafia. Syria has attacked its own people and is doing so this very day. Hizballah has "attacked" the sovereignty of Lebanon and with rockets, mortars and sniper fire has attacked Israel repeatedly.

let the corporate shilling begin!

It appears that DSS has no idea what he is talking about.

Julian Assange has a lot of nerve trying to tell President Obama to do the right thing. A narcissistic megalomaniac like Assange would not know what is right even if it hit him upside the head! I sincerely hope Bradley Manning is tried and found guilty of treason and rots behind bars!

Mark-865096,

Your quite right, I accidentally posted "Pussy Riot" media coverage here. It was my fault and does'nt belong here concerning Assange. I tried to delete it but I was unable to. -Paul

Mark, 21 minutes before you posted your snide plea, the person that posted that in error apologised.

Now it's your turn.

Mark your the "numbnut" he posted his mistake directly after the comment.

Brian - since he is in Britian, perhaps the brits should bring back Johnny English.

Why doesn't Assange prove he has a pair after all by offering to trade himself for Bradley like Mohammad Ali offered to stand hostage for the prisoners in Iran. Iran turned him down, perhaps solely because he is Muslim; but he did make the offer. Oops! My mistake. Assange doesn't do it because he has no balls.

What would happen if he went to Sweden is that he would be immediately scooped up by the States and renditioned.

Sweden, will send him straight to the US, thats the only reason those charges exist. I see a Gene Hackman, movie coming soon Enemy of the State part 2.. lmao

we have a very favorable extradition treaty with the UK. Why would we need him to be extradited to another country to act on this? That's right we dont. If the US wanted him we would have asked while the UK had him. Take your meds - your paranoia is getting out of control.

If he goes to Sweden and sits for questioning and he is innocent, then he walks.

The fact that the US government is on public record opposing asylum for him, when it instead should have gone gone on the record of not caring as the sex matter in Sweden is not a US issue, says otherwise. His concern of being extradited to the US is quite legitimate.

we have a very favorable extradition treaty with the UK. Why would we need him to be extradited to another country to act on this?

Now that is a good question. Obviously without formal charges, England can't legally extradite. England could be politically unwilling to extradite without formal charges, and maybe Sweden is. But we all already know that the US has already been in the business of secretly extraditing suspected terrorists to other countries for torture, so any fear of the US is pretty much legitimate. Why should Assange take a chance?

@culheath - Well stated! (Everything you've said so far) (re-posted since most comments are collapsed)

The cables leaked were an embarrassment because they showed how trivial our government acts...Hillary Clinton making fun of another women's clothes, etc... not exactly "state secrets," just emails that show the American people, who actually read them, how petty our elected officials can be, on our tax dollar (these were not personal computers), they are the computers that the American taxpayer has bought (essentially) and emails sent while our officials are supposedly working and getting paid with our tax dollars - no wonder the country is a mess?! - since Assange really did not let out any state secrets, I don't see why he should be punished. Usually hackers that infiltrate a government system - end up with a job, not jail time.

If he has charges against him in Sweden that are of merit, why won't the UK guarantee his safety to Sweden to face the charges? Oh - of course, they are of no merit and he knows it.

Thanks Black Kettle,

I would add though that there are no charges against Assange in Sweden, he is just wanted for questioning. By whom is the pertinent question...as expat7 has clearly pointed out.

He could use some water up the nose.....child molesting pig...

Sow your seeds, not mine!

He could use some water up the nose.....child molesting pig...

Well, that was out of left field in a completely different ball park.

By the way, why so greedy with the seed?

Because I earned it.

Me too...but I usually give it away to avoid having to carry around the clutter. You know how it is, you buy a pack of smokes and these moochers come out of the woodwork. But I don't hide them or something.

So it goes.

He's 1) offered to be questioned in the UK, and now offered to be questioned at the embassy he currently resides in and 2) said he's willing to go to Sweden, if Sweden agrees it won't allow the US to extradite him on charges of espionage or treason.

If this were really about questioning him, it would have happened by now. It's entirely about getting him to Sweden so he can be shipped to the US and locked away forever (probably without a trial -- just ask Bradley Manning, who's been imprisoned for 800+ days without trial and for hundreds of those days forced to be naked in solitary confinement, without even having a blanket).

Olblahdioblada: What a bunch of crap you just posted!.

Mr. Bradley Manning is in the US Military and is subject to the Laws of the Military. He is being held in a Military Prison and is recieving the best of care and accomodations.

Mr. Assange is an Australian Citizen and is not subject to American Laws. I assume if he gave himself up to Sweden for investigation into his alledged SEX crimes and if they gave him to the United States after they finished with him I don't know what the US could do to Mr. Assange.

Mr. Manning has a serious problem and will probably be found guilty of reveling Military secrets. That is a very serious Felony Crime.

If he had a trial here their would not be a word heard by the public. He would get the same treatment that Noriega got when he talked about CIA action in Nicaragua.

Obla, I have not heard that Mr. Assange has agreed to go to Sweden under any conditions. Where did you learn this?

Sweden doesn't take orders from the United States. If anything, the reverse is true. Sweden has shown a prickly independence from American influence that sometimes spills over to outright hostility. Except that Saab now is owned by Ford I can't see any way in which the US can pressure Sweden to turn Julian Assange over to it.

Admittedly, Assange doesn't want to face American justice given the hostility he has shown to this country. He has dropped even the pretense of being a mere seeker of truth and enemy of secrecy. But he would have full legal and diplomatic protection from his government, Australia, even if he did find himself here. The Extraordinary Rendition program by the CIA ended with the Bush administration. If there is any chance of his being snatched off a street in Stockholm and bundled off to a secret prison, it's only in his own mind.

I agre that Arizona is a PIT I live here, but coming forward four years after a so called rape..is bs...We all know that it does nto take four years to come forward...oh I know I just remembered that I was not paid the 1000 promised so I will make a rape charge. Escorts always lie......imagine how many girls could make the same basless claim on you. This is a railroad job and reguardless of his being questioned.....and by the way that could be done at the embassy if they wanted to ...to detemrine if the allegation has credibility. Governments are corrupt and lie all the time...They are no better than the whores....

" but coming forward four years after a so called rape..is bs"

I wonder how many came forward immediately in the Sandusky trial, guess that was bs too. Gonna stand behind him and call bs?

"Governments are corrupt and lie all the time...They are no better than the whores...."

but Hackers/Rapists never lie and are always on the "right" side of the law and only have the publics best interest in mind. ROFLMA

They are no better than the whores....

That's BS, whores have more integrity and you actually get what you pay for.

He had consentual sex with two women who later asked the police if they could make him take an aids test. It's so easy to get the uninformed to blindly follow, charge anyone with terrorism, child molestation or rape.then let the stoning begin.

I don't like this guy because he is a hacker (not a former hacker. Once a hacker, always a hacker). He is willing to expose all your personal information, not just politically embarrassing information. He needs to take care of this sexual assault issue. As much as I loath people like him, the Swedish government should just fly to London and take his deposition. If they believe he should stand trial, they should just try him in absentia. If found guilty then the Ecuadorian government should follow international law (if there is an international law?) and extradite him.

He hasn't even been charged with a crime -- the charges were dismissed long ago and only dragged back up again after the big release of US documents. It's a farce, but sure... question him. Sweden is more than capable of sending a staff out there to question him in the embassy, an offer he's already put on the table. (He's also said he'd go to Sweden, if Sweden agreed not to allow the US to extradite him on charges of espionage.)

ArizonaisaPit:

You understand the problem. Several of these post have no idea why Mr. Assange who is Australian is attacking the United States.

He is not subject to US Laws. Mr Manning on the other hand has a serious problem.

Sweden might have a charge against him but he does not want to give himself up to them because he might be found guilty. The Attack on America is a smoke screen.

He is not "an accused rapist". No charges have been pressed against him. Someone just claimed allegations against him. There's a huge difference. If they'd thought in Sweden that they have any solid evidence that he's guilty, then they probably would have indicted him in his absence. As it stands now, he is not more "an accused rapist" as you might be, fyrboss.

And the rape charge is not that he physically forced someone to have sex, it's based on the claim that he didn't use a rubber during consensual sex...4 years later. Can we say railroading, class?

How consenting can you be when you are asleep when it starts?

Alant, if someone points a finger at you and say you raped them....You Are Accused! He has not been indicted yet is all. Someone went to the police and has ACCUSED him of rape....that is why they want him there for questioning now. And they also know what this coward will do when he is indicted...LOOK AT Him!! Hiding away so he thinks he will be safe there. You have to look at how Sweden does things there. They want him in the country so he won't find some snake hole to climb in.

Genenut

How consenting can you be when you are asleep when it starts?

That's exactly how I look at the Tea Party Republicans in this election.

Culthead

You must have been a real fun date....

Considering you believe that forcing someone to have sex with you is the only way to criminally sexually assault someone... You belong on a list somewhere...

Someone went to the police and has ACCUSED him of rape.

Let's be clear. They went to the police only have they mutually found out he had sex with both of them. This was three days after he slept with the last one. The first thing they asked the police is if the could compel him to take an HIV test. Only later were rape accusations brought up. At one point he was cleared but then the investigation was restarted. He has already been questioned by the Swedish authorities. There is obviously some meddling going on.

K. Truant

Culthead

You must have been a real fun date....

Considering you believe that forcing someone to have sex with you is the only way to criminally sexually assault someone... You belong on a list somewhere...

Wow.

It's perfectly obvious that you totally misread me. I never said any such thing.

It's likely there are remedial reading classes available in your area should you choose to up your game.

Just sayin'...

I think he knows that he will be dropped into a Siberian like US jail and be forgotten about. Does anyone care about what was revealed about our govenment? Who cares about wikileaks we all know if you want something to happen all you have to be is rich, powerful and hire a lobbyist. We Americans are so manipulated and we let it happen. Why aren't those bankers hung by thier thumbs? Rich and powerful trumps all.

whats next culheath.......racism???

Funny, you better re-read your own statements as you are passing off that all that happened only as not using a rubber for consensual sex, so no problem; which btw is NOT illegal in Sweden so you obviously are missing facts. No still means no (even if it means no unprotected sex) , but some think no doesn't mean the same for them. Its not uncommon for women to come forward years after. Make Assange go and face his accusers, simple. By running and hiding he is making it bigger than it needed to be.

Swan

Most rapes are NOT reported because the women feel alone; it must especially be tough to come forward and accuse a very wealthy international businessman, only after learning they were not alone and realize he is a repeat offender they come forward to make him take responsibility for his actions. You are another that believes sexual assault is only defined as forced sex, BTW - What Assange did is also chargeable in the US.

The presumption of innocence is a bedrock principal of justice, so stop talking about him as if he did it and the women are heroes. They just as easily could have a) been mad to have found out he was sleeping around (he was only ever reported by the woman 1 after she discovered woman 2 had sex with him 3 days earlier) or b) opportunists being used western governments angry about Wikileaks.

I don't know what's true and what isn't -- and the point is that you don't, either.

Assange has repeatedly made it clear he's willing to be questioned - he's not running away - but Sweden is neither willing to question him in the UK nor willing to gaurantee that Sweden won't use the excuse of Assange arriving in Sweden to ship him off to the US under charges of espionage.

If this was really about the allegations of sexual misconduct, then Sweden would have sent someone to the UK to question him over a year ago.

Well culheath, it would be more effective if you could refrain from the attacks, issued on both personal and group levels. I had actually read you comments and thought about your perspective until this point. Then you sink to the level of an average hate filled rhetoric spewing, one dimensional, shallow, vindictive, bigoted, intolerant, left wing lunatic.

Don't let go of the dignified approach, the left is in critical need of reasonable voices.

Puhleeze. I'm normally one of the most diplomatic and rational posters on here, but I don't take @!$%# either.

With all due respect, here's a mirror.

What Assange did is also chargeable in the US.

You have no idea what he did or didn't do.

If he really is a sexual predator, he'd be with plenty of his kind if he did go.

Judd-2749800

Does Assange go to church?

That matters how?

Does Assange go to church?

Of course! He is one of the church elders at Our Holy Narcissistic Egotist. Of course that may be on hold while he becomes the resident Ecuadorian Embassy punk.

Why do you want to know ? if he does, is he going to become your bud ? looking for something you have in common ? By the way, I seriously doubt he does....he is too intelligent to be manipulated by any organized religion.

Saying it twice just makes it twice as wrong.

Learning that the United States government was authorizing the assassination of U.S. citizens via drone strikes seems like valuable information. Learning that they were dropping drone strikes on groupings of people, whom they did not know were combatants or civilians, seems like something worth knowing. They additionally wait until people run up to help the injured, then kill them as well. The United States is constantly covering up war crimes and blatantly committing them.

Yeah. There's nothing to be learned from the files and videos published online. No conspiracies found.

The America: Right or Wrong people don't want to know about any of that. While 58,000 Americans were being slaughtered in Nam they were at home beating up hippies for having the temerity to wear long hair and daring to challenge American involvement in the war. Trust me , they'd rather not know any of that stuff.

They know more than you.. you just proved it...

Mike Morgan-368007

Did you happen to watch any of what Assange published? Did you watch the video of a helicopter shooting down three infants in the street? What about the description of a mission whereby US soldiers went into villages in the night and killed entire families while they were sleeping?

Before anyone comments on what Assange published, maybe you need to educate yourselves and read what the papers said. Personally, I don't have a problem with murdering children and innocent people in their beds if it helps my country. My taxes paid for it. But people should at least live in reality like adults and have to face what they are supporting.

Personally, I like to know the fact that the US deployed (still deploys) Blackwater (now Xe) as mercs against pirates for the government of Djibouti - the contract specifically states that while the French capture pirates and return them to jail in their country, Blackwater will not take any into custody and being in international waters "lethal force" is the only expected outcome when dealing with the pirates....again, my tax dollars going toward the killing of other people... for what?

Djibouti? Funny, I haven't heard that country's name on regular newscasts... who knew we were so involved...covertly, of course...

Controlling access to the Red Sea, Djibouti is of major strategic importance, a fact that has ensured a steady flow of foreign assistance.

During the Gulf War it was the base of operations for the French military, who continue to maintain a significant presence.

France has thousands of troops as well as warships, aircraft and armoured vehicles in Djibouti, contributing directly and indirectly to the country's income. The US has stationed hundreds of troops in Djibouti, its only African base, in an effort to counter terrorism in the region.

So France has "thousands of troops....and warships" and they capture pirates and jail them, the US uses BW or Xe (same) and boats pirates to international waters to be executed like dogs (with 50 caliber guns no less)? How I am SO not proud of this US behaviour.

I can see that the country is strategically placed but the French seem to have it under control, yet why is this NEVER in the news? Transparency is essential to "democracy." Without transparency, nothing is what it seems under the surface.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13231761

@whoknow - I see we will have to agree to disagree on the US killing of people in foreign countries... you don't mind, I do... we do agree though, that we have the right to know such things - after all, we are paying for it with our taxes!

K. Truant

They know more than you.. you just proved it..

They were uninformed jerks just like some posters here I won't bother naming. But most of them figured it out and realized the error of their ways and eventually saw the war for what it was. A few remained cocooned and refused to admit the horror of the reality...58,000 men killed for a totally misguided foreign policy that came to naught.

So it goes.

Black Kettle & Sand Creek...lest we forget

Brilliant post. (#17.6)

culheath

While I would love to take credit for finding such information :) - the real credit goes to.... Julian Assange, I just assembled the information a bit more, but thank you friend!

While you guys are patting yourselves on the back, think about who is running the country now and has not done one thing about what your complaining about.

You have a bizarre view of who is running the country if you think it's a president, no matter who fills the position.

But deep down it's the patting on the back that disturbed you right? But it's ok...I like the way you think and write, though we are at odds over many things I suppose...maybe not.

OMG that was almost a hug!

I need a shower first.

Who Know

YOu have a very twisted view of facts. YOU believe that the US servicemen are commissioned to commit murder, families while they sleep? Are you writing this from Iran? YOU forget it was 1 person who committed those crimes and has also been charged by the US Military for his crimes! Wherever you are getting your propaganda from its certainly been fortified with lies.

And Culheath I bet dollars to donuts you don't even know what POLICY the US government used to invade Iraq, cmon I dare you.. and if you make ANY mention of WMD you LOSE! That was the MEDIAs reason, not the goverments.

K. Truant - Whom does not Know !

State of the Union Address televised on 1/28/2003:

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.

Iraq has 500 tons of chemical weapons: Sarin gas, Mustard gas, VX Nerve agent. U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents.

Iraq has 30,000 weapons capable of dumping chemical weapons on people. We have also discovered through intelligence
that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas."

Iraq has a growing fleet of planes capable of dispersing chemical weapons almost anywhere in the world. Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people now in custody reveal that Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida. Our intelligence sources tell us that he (Saddam) has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production.

Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at [past nuclear] sites. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. -VP Dick Cheney

We gave him a chance to allow the inspectors in, and he wouldn't let them in.

— — — — — _

After US troops destroyed Iraq the story unfolds as reported by our own troops and CIA:

1. Zero Chemical Weapons Found Not a drop of any chemical weapons has been found anywhere in Iraq.

2. Zero Munitions Found Not a single chemical weapons munition has been found anywhere in Iraq.

3. Zero Aerial Vehicles Found Not a single aerial vehicle capable ofdispersing chemical or biological weapons, has been found anywhere in Iraq.

4. To date, not a shred of evidence connecting Hussein with Al Qaida or any other known terrorist organizations have been revealed. (besides certain Palestinian groups who represent no direct threat to the US).

5. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well as dozens of leading scientists declared said tubes unsuitable for nuclear weapons production -- months before the war.

6. Two months of inspections at these former Iraqi nuclear sites found zero evidence of prohibited nuclear activities there - IAEA report to UN Security Council.

7. The documents implied were known at the time by Bush to be forged and not credible.

8. The IAEA had found no evidence or plausible indication of the revival of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq. - IAEA report to UN Security Council.

9. UN inspectors went into Iraq to search for possible weapons violations from December 2002 into March 2003 - none were found.

10. The world concludes that the U.S. government was steered by energy companies to attack Iraq for the sole purpose of securing oil fields. To date in 2012, 27 different energy companies from around the world now operate freely without any Iraqi regulation and sell Iraqi oil on the world market.

Facing the judge is Sweden is better than a life in Ecuador. Trust me!

Chumly ,why should anyone trust you....Have you ever been to Ecuador? What a ignorant comment......

WOW! Was there a misprint with your name!

Precisely. And that's why he won't go to Sweden to face the trumped up charges.

By the way, your use of the American flag next to your comment makes you a traitor to American ideals. You should remove it.

davsie

Shove it cul.

The guy is a scum bag and you are one for defending him.

Our government has the right, the obligation to keep stuff secret for national security reasons. . You air e a naive stupid person.

So sweet of you to say....

It's interesting that you see me "defending" him when I'm just defending American principles.

So it goes.

Our government has the right, the obligation to keep stuff secret for national security reasons. . You air e a naive stupid person.

Assange is not a traitor. He is not American. He has taken no oath. Given his age if he hasn't cost anyone their lives I say lock him up for a year or two and boot him out with a dishonorable discharge.

Manning on the other hand has taken an oath.

Post above should have read...

Assange is not a traitor. He is not American. He has taken no oath.

Manning on the other hand has taken an oath. Given his age if he hasn't cost anyone their lives I say lock him up for a year or two and boot him out with a dishonorable discharge.

Goldfish,

You are right that Manning should have faced some penalty, but he's already been imprisoned 800+ days without a trial. For several hundred of those days, he was locked up in the cruelest version of solitary, forced nudity, not even given a blanket while sleeping, and woken up every few hours on the off chance he fell asleep. He was only allowed outside of his cage for a very tiny portion of the day (an hour, I think). He was not allowed visitors, except on very rare monthly occasions, and even then, various shenigans on base were used to prevent his visitors from getting there in the window in which to see him.

So, in other words, torture.

I think his 800 days without trial and all the torture he's received is punishment enough. This goes so far beyond the constitution -- it's time to let him go.

American principles? Revealing confidential secret military data to a foreign non citizen for monetary purposes for him, and so that Assuage can reveal what an awful country we are?

when you join the military, you OBEY the officers for your job. He will sit in Leavenworth or some other facility and ROT for all I care. Assange is someone that should be locked up too. Just the fact that you are on the same side of the radical socialist leader of Ecuador tells me something. You are just a scummy , naive, and un American as Bradley and people like Michael Moore.

Pretty much, yeah. You can believe the Swedish charges are at the behest of the US government as is the British reactionary stance to Assange's being granted asylum by Ecuador. All of this is a push by the State Dept to make an example of both Manning and Assange. Even a child could see that.

This is all about control of information. The real question should be why does the State Department and/or military have so little control of it's information. After all, over a million people had access to the same information Manning did.

So now we can argue over complicity on the part of all those other people to protect government secrets even when they evidence war crimes or the so-called heroics of the Manning and Assange types.

You can believe the Swedish charges are at the behest of the US government as is the British reactionary stance to Assange's being granted asylum by Ecuador.

The tin foil getting a bit tight?

Pretty much, yeah. You can believe the Swedish charges are at the behest of the US government

Absolutely. There is no reason to suspect integrity in our gov't. That's why the nations forefathers created power by the people to question gov't

And given that we armed Islamic radicals in Afghanistan to kill 14,000 Russian soldiers while we were told that the Russian gov't had invaded, versus what really happened that the Russian Army was invited by the moderate Islamic gov't to fight against radical zealots, who eventually attacked us on 9/11, there is no reason to assume that our gov't wouldn't try to level false charges against Assange.

Given that he is not a traitor, not being born American then false charges might be their only way of silencing him. Of course if that is what happened it may back fire on them just like arming Islamic radicals during the Russian Afghan war did.

culheath wrote:

You can believe the Swedish charges are at the behest of the US government as is the British reactionary stance to Assange's being granted asylum by Ecuador. All of this is a push by the State Dept to make an example of both Manning and Assange. Even a child could see that.

I don't think a child would necessarily see it this way. They don't pay attention to this crap. More likely only those individuals such as yourself that believe all conspiracy theories are fact.

Assange needs to return to Sweden for questioning. If he is not charged, he will be free to leave.

If the U.S. Government wanted him, they've had ample opportunities to get him in the past years. But this is another conspiracy theory in which you believe.

As for the leaks, by publishing them, Assange did not only damage the U.S. Government, but those of other nations too. But many of the documents were drivel as in the one mentioned in an earlier post (not yours) regarding Clinton comments on attire. Just shows that even in government, people are human and will gossip.

As for Manning, he should be tried for espionage if the evidence indicates the information was obtained and sold by him. If convicted, Manning will not receive the death penalty, however, he could spend a decade or so behind bars for his transgressions. Though I still wouldn't shed a tear for him if I was wrong.

For his action, Assange will not be allowed entry in the USA on any type of Visa.

That is called a straw man.

He should be questioned, but if this was only about the questioning, Sweden would have sent people to question him in the UK years ago.

He's always been willing to be questioned, he just hasn't been willing to go to Sweden without being charged with a crime, because the ability for him to be extradited from there to the US is much easier than the UK.

WHAT A WIMP!!!

Unlike a keyboard warrior all puffed up and strutting like a rooster... like yourself?

"Unlike a keyboard warrior all puffed up and strutting like a rooster... like yourself?"

LMAO! Thanks, culheath....I needed that!

jimmy in philly

Assange will be dead in 18 months......probably by "accident"

We'll come knocking at your door if that's the case.

@BC-Patriot

Let me get this straight..a sex offender is asking us to release someone<etc>

You don't know he is a sex offender. At this point he is the "alleged" rapist. Further, those charges seem to have been manufactured because no country would extradite him for merely leaking secrets.

Does this include the President? So let me get this straight, its [sic] ok for the white house to leak national security info,

By that you are of course referring to Valerie Plame the CIA agent outed by the Bush administration.

If the government or the military or a corporation is engaged in an illegal activity then the members of that organization have a duty to report the malfeasance. Accountability is the only way to stop corruption.

we may all be dead in four months. Is anyone familiar with the soon to come planetary alignment ? A change of earth axis is totally possible which would wipe out most of the surface of the planet. Oops....no more tacky problems or tacky people.

Is anyone familiar with the soon to come planetary alignment ?

I am. I have a double layered foil hat to keep those gamma rays out of my brain. I also have enough Libby's Corned Beef Hash to last me through the resulting ice age. And you-can't-have-any!

I also have enough Libby's Corned Beef Hash to last me through the resulting ice age. And you-can't-have-any!

But who will there be to eat once the corned beef hash runs out? :)

Still difficult to accept moral guidance from the Germans after all this time.

Please inform me of how ignorant you have become.

What part of when a woman says no do you not understand? She agreed to have sex with the freak PROVIDED he wear a condom. When he refused to wear a condom he committed the act of RAPE!

A agree with Bob in LG in his statement "Still difficult to accept moral guidance from the Germans after all this time."

Ecuador compared to England is completely broke. Ecuador's currency is the Dollar. The Dollar speaks a language all Latin American Countries understand. They will do anything for Dollars. The payoff for giving Assange Diplomatic Immunity is very Profitable, so that's what they'll do.

Once Ecuador has Assange, then the Highest Bidder gets to take him from Ecuador.

Ecuador's biggest Export and National Product is "Roses". Roses are the Economy of Ecuador. Roses havn't been selling so well lately.

Fresh Roses are good for about 3 weeks tops. Same with Ecaudor's economy. Can't eat Roses.

Ecuador knows good deals when they see them. Assange is a Good Deal.

I've done business with the good people of Ecuador. There is nothing cheap and you must constantly fight and bicker to make them honor their Contracts. You must pay everyone for Protection from the local Gestapo to the El Presidenta. If you object, then all your stuff becomes their stuff via robbers, theives and crooks.

For all you people who believe Americans are ripping off South American Countries, You are living a Lie. A Big Lie. Its just the opposite.

In South America, including Mexico, Never pay for a shipment of any goods unless its on a Boat in International Waters under the Registry of the USA and piloted by an American Captain. Never pay for a Plane full of goods unless it is on an American plane piloted by an American Pilot in the Air headed for the USA.

Never dispute a Contract while you are in that Country. Do it for the safety of the USA. Have your lawyers in that Country dispute it.

Save your money, your life, and your time and manufacture your "what you ma callits" in the USA.

So that's Ecuador. Now they have a product. Assange. He will be a Profitable Product, indeed.

If Assange knew what was good for him, he would beg to go back to Sweden and face Rape Charges. Assange will not enjoy his stay in Ecuador.

concerned veteran

Please inform me of how ignorant you have become.

What part of when a woman says no do you not understand? She agreed to have sex with the freak PROVIDED he wear a condom. When he refused to wear a condom he committed the act of RAPE!

Is that a crime in the US or Britain? No? That's a completely novel definition of rape, exclusive to Sweden.

What does it say if a country would extradite someone for a crime that doesn't exist in their own culture or laws? Canada won't extradite even people they have in prison to the US if he or she faces a capital penalty because there is no capital punishment in Canada.

Sweden is a Sovernign Country. Their Laws are made for a reason to protect the Citizens of Sweden. Not the USA or Canada.

How pompus are you to believe for one moment YOU have the right to tell Sweden what type of Law they should have.

The USA should have the same law especially for Homosexuals, drug abusers, Blacks from Africa, and Latino's from high rate AIDS Countries. If you don't use a condomn, then its rape.

You can't even donate Plasma if you have been in Africa or Spain since 1977. Brazil knows that their AIDs rate is at least 30% but don't know how high it really is.

Sweden is obviously concerned about the spread of deadly STD's. AIDS is very costly on lives, health, families, and communities.

So, at least Sweden is making Laws to protect their Citizens. Everyone should respect that even if you don't like it.

Does recieving and publishing stolen information mean anything to you? Humm Its ok for Assange to break the law if he believes he is exposing another law breaker? Assange and his support group think they are above international law.

@Billy

Isnt this what Obama did above the law to let the illegals stay in the US?Maybe you need to take those blinders off and see the REAL World for what it is...The only time you will see American people do something is when there COMFORT ZONE is SHAKEN till it cracks...I rather have a whistle blower than a Politicians telling us lies.

Paragus,

I wonder how you would feel if some broke the law and it affected you directly. Assange likes the same double standard. He wants to be a hero while breaking the law but when it comes to him personally, he feels he can pick and choose which laws to obey. Maybe you need to learn about the laws you speak of. If what Obama did broke the law, it will catch up to him also. Again maybe you need to see what the real world would be like if it were not for laws. If you need to see it personally, I can think of quite a few countries that will teach you the benefits of living in a country with laws.

Two questions for you, Sunshiney.

One...what are you smoking?

Two...why aren't you sharing?

This guy's just another hacker who did what he did to get his rocks off. And apparently used his position of power at Wikileaks to sexually harass and assault one of his "employees". His statements previously prove he's nothing but a paranoid coward.

Let the Swedes have him. Better yet, let the Swedes come get him. I'd have no problem if the Brits happened to be looking somewhere else if the Swedes pulled some commando raid to snatch this coward from the Ecuadorians.

1. If Sunshiney does share can I have some.

2. Maybe we can grow our own and cut out Sunshiney.

If he raped her, then I agree with everyone here, that the due process of law should be followed. Rape is rape! However, I wonder if she is friends with Monica Lowinski, and has the saved evidence somewhere, just thinking out loud. The comments however have also proven another thing; a divided country is a conqured country!