
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Gan Golan, of Los Angeles, dressed as the "Master of Degrees," holds a ball and chain representing his college loan debt.

Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaks to the media outside the High Court in London in this December 5, 2011 file photo.
Supporters who put up nearly $320,000 to bail out WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange have lost their money, the Guardian of London reported.
Assange’s backers -- who include Jemima Khan, a writer, movie directors Ken Loach and Michael Moore and publisher Felix Dennis – had to forfeit their money because Assange skipped bail in June to avoid being extradited to Sweden where he is wanted on rape charges.
Assange, 41, has repeated that the Swedes would send him to the U.S., where he believes he would face the death penalty for leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents through the website WikiLeaks.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said those claims are “without foundation,” according to the BBC.
Instead, Assange moved into the Ecuadorean embassy, where British officials cannot arrest him, according to the Guardian. President Rafael Correa of Ecuador extended an open invitation to Assange to stay at the embassy, where, according to Reuters, he resides in a small, sequestered room with a vitamin D light and a treadmill to blow off steam.
A district court in Westminster, England, will convene again in October to determine whether nine other backers should also lose their money
Those financial supporters had promised to pay the court $31,732 each, the Guardian reported. Total, the backers stand to lose $539,444. Other backers include Assange’s girlfriend Sarah Harrison, along with a journalism critic and a Nobel Prize winning biologist, according to the Independent.
The conditions of Assange’s bail required that he wear an electronic tag and stay at the home of businesswoman Sarah Saunders. Saunders, who told the BBC in 2010 that Assange was a family friend, also put more than $30,000 toward his bail.
None of Assange’s financial supporters attended court, which frustrated Judge Howard Riddle. The judge said those backers had a month to convince Assange to turn himself in.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Chinese media: 'Many Chinese people dislike Hillary'
- In parts of China, BYO school supplies include desks
- Pistorious sorry for timing, not content, of Paralympics outburst
- 77-year-old Japanese man asks US mayor to look for items lost in tsunami
- Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unification Church, dies at 92
- Girl accused of blasphemy in Pakistan may have been framed by Muslim cleric
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook


A small price to pay for hearing the truth.. Free Assange.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To blow the whistle on what our governments are doing is a service to the people..
There is no reason to punish the messenger. He is just telling people what the truth is and some
people can not handle the truth on how corrupt the government has become.
Don't mess with the US because they will f..k you/anyone every time.
Regardless of what else you believe, he knowingly put thousands (at least) of lives at risk without a care. Even if he's innocent of all other charges (yeah, RIGHT!) anyone with a brain can see he's guilty of that and deserves punishment. Occasionally the messenger does deserve to be punished! He runs out on bail leaving his friends in the lurch, most likely has a clueless understanding of rape as well. If you think that makes him a hero, more power to you. In my mind it makes him a criminal and an a-hole.
You have got to be kidding me. Nothing in those diplomatic cables had anything to do with revealing any government misdeeds and the release certainly was not any public service. The only thing the Assange cares about is self promotion. He is nothing but an egomaniac narcissist who only cares about getting his name in the press and pumping up his image. He could care less about who he hurts or gets killed in the process. His release of the identities of US intelligence assets got on Afghan man and his family killed because he was cooperating with the US and providing intelligence on terrorists in the country. I am glad to see all these @!$%#s who supported him lose their money. For someone who has been proclaiming his innocence, he sure is going to great lengths just to avoid answering some questions. His line about Sweden sending him to the US is complete BS designed to make him sound bigger than he is. There are currently no charges pending against him in the US (although many, including me feel there should be), so his fears are nothing but a self delusion. On top of that, if the US wanted him, Britain is a much closer ally than Sweden and the US would simply have asked Britain to hand him over. This whole thing is about a sex offender trying to avoid answering for his crimes, nothing more. Anything else is purely in Assange's head.
Great news! Idiots like those who would support a known traitor deserve to lose their dosh.
Nevada-Brett
He can't be a traitor, he isn't an American. Maybe a spy but that might be a stretch. I wonder what he could be charged with, publishing state secrets.
There are 320,000 lessons to be learned here.
TONY TYLER
We aren't holding Assange, we have no charges pending against Assange, we aren't pursuing Assange. Sweden wants him for questioning in a sexual assault case and has extradited him from England. He skipped on his bail so there must be some reason why, probably because he knows he is guilty and would be tried and convicted of his alleged crime. England is in control of whether we could extradite him from Sweden to face any charges here and they have already said they would not allow extradition to proceed.
Billy N. Igger
As if you have any grounds to preach to others about being civil.
Billy - Assange is an Australian, not an American. He doesn't have to obey our laws, and we are not the world police. Last I checked, we've had our traitor (Manning) in maximum security prison for the last two years, and yet they're still trying to get Assange's head. Manning's your traitor, if it's blood you all want there ya go.
Angel, your ignorant to think the Obama administration isn't trying to get their hand's on Assange. If they weren't, they would publicly announce it and Assange would be more than willing to go to Sweden to face his accusations. To think this is about Sweden shows how little you know about the situation and the ignorance of the matter.
And JS a large amount of names were whited out. He didn't have to white out a single.
FREE ASSANGE!!! Let's not forget the bottom hard line fact of the matter is Manning could have gone to ANYONE with this information and had it printed/leaked withOUT any names whited out. PERIOD.
Australia why are you so afraid of big brother!? You have a right AND a responsibility to stick up for your citizens abroad. If he is extradited to the US and you guys do nothing it will be quite a pathetic moment.
The moment Assange is forced to step foot onto our soil I will be with the many in the streets to protest the pathetic justification of charging a foreign citizen with anything other than embarrassing the government.
Some times I wish we really were the evil boogyman that paranoid idiots think we are. If we were, he'd already be dead and no longer a topic of conversation
How can he be a traitor when he's not even a citizen of the United States?
God damn, are people really this stupid these days?
I'm another poor journalist, but I pitched in $20 for the cause of freedom and transparency vs. corruption and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Bradley Manning and Julian Assange are heroes if you place any value on democracy and holding those who poison our world accountable for their evil acts. And if any of the people who lost bail money need some or all of it replaced, I'm sure the freedom loving people of the world would gladly chip in to reimburse them for their sacrifice. The judge is a fool; expecting people to convince JA to face the death squads of the evil empire is absurd. If the US had any conscience at all they would denouce the acts that were revealed instead of trying to kill the messenger and silence truth. I am ashamed of my country - we use to be the bastion of freedom that offered refuge and protected truth tellers being oppressed or hunted by fascist regimes, now we are one of them. A corporate-run plutocratic tyrannical state has the USA become. If we don't wise up and tell big money to f-off, we will be torn down by the rest of the planet, one way or another. Bombs can't replace bread, act as friends or bring peace to the world. They only create more hatred and chaos, as our idiotic war on terra has proven over and over the past 11 years. Instead of voting for puppets who pledge their political careers to lobbyists, we need to be voting for those pledged to voting in sync with the progressive caucus.
For anyone seeking the truth, perhaps if you have the guts, check out Sex, Lies and Julian Assange, a investigative report done on Australian TV and available on the web. In it you'll learn that the women never intended to file rape charges, that was done in error by the swedish cop who wrote the complaint. All they went to the cop shop for was to see if they could force him to take an STD test because they both had unprotected sex with him. One he lived with for a week while working in Sweden. The other walked out on the police in anger when she learned they were filing rape charges. There was never any rape.
As for the suggestion that the US has nothing to be pissed about or that the US is not guilty of horrible crimes against humanity, watch the video entitled "Collateral Murder" - the video shot from a blackhawk copter with the pilot gunning down a small group of photographers and reporters from Reuters News Agency with a few tour guides in a downtown square in Iraq. It's a horrifying scene for which the pilot and his dispatcher should be severely punished. It's obvious from the dialogue that this type of behavior is SOP in the US military.
Why should JA fear the US when they've treated whistle-blower Manning so well? Exposing corruption and holding the criminals accountable is what makes and keeps us free and decent, not sweeping it under the rug like the former soviet union. Quit being subjects to the tyranny and stand up for freedom of speech. If we are moral in our acts we'd have nothing to fear with transparency.
Have any of you idiots studied our history? Did you not learn the importance of an open society if we are to remain free? Did you know that in 2015 the police, homeland security and any other gov't agency will be free to fly surveillance drones all over the USA, inc. to monitor our entire society? Have any of you dumbphux bothered to read 1984? Well, it's happening right before your red, white and blew glossy eyes, you yankee doodle dimwits. Turn off the corporate news, foxbots, learn to think for yourselves and get a clue.
The people who put the money up are rich and can afford to lose it. They probably put the money up in the hopes that he would leave.
I applaud any misfortune that comes this turd's way. He's trying to avoid prison by staying in a tiny room in a foreign embassy with a treadmill and a Vitamin D light. LOL!!
Mike X - Wow that was inspirational. Well done......
Mike X for President!
Look, Assange shouldn't be prosecuted for leaking or stealing secrets, he didn't leak secrets, he did just what the NY Times did when Daniel Ellsberg did, they published them just like Assange published documents given to him, that's not a crime. He should however face his accuser(s) in Sweden. In one case he allegedly had or tried to have sex with a woman while she was sleeping, that's a crime if she didn't consent and she says she didn't. In this case he can't hide behind the right to publish or the fear of being jailed for publishing he needs to face his accuser(s) in a Swedish court, full stop.
He isn't being prosecuted for leaking secrets he is wanted in Sweden for sexualassault in Sweaden by a Swedish citizen not a U.S. citizen. The U.S. isn't trying to extradite him it is England.
If he wanted to preach truth, he would go to Sweden and shout it to the rooftops in court. The media coverage would be viewed world wide. Instead, he hides in a room like a frightened little boy who hopes dad will forget what he is mad about and maybe won't give him a spanking.
That is exactly why he won't be prosecuted by the US. In the midst of this hysteria, people are forgetting that he hasn't even been indicted in the US, nor has the US made any move to indict him. The government knows that they don't have a case against him because he didn't do anything different than US newspapers. Assange is just using the US as a bogeyman to avoid having to face charges in Sweden. I have no sympathy for him.
Assange thinks he's going to be put to death? that's a seriously low IQ... there is zero chance of that happening... the Swedes would never extradite him without an assurance against it, and there's no way to even charge him under US law which is something everyone is missing....
what it actually is: he's playing the big bad US card to avoid a rape charge...
Maybe he should stop raping women and manipulating young confused US Army guys into the death penalty for his own ego....
one day, he will run into someone he's screwed over... and we'll read about him being killed in a mugging...
To the the investors Assange suckered, all I can say is that's what what happens when you back the wrong horse in a race. Expect to lose your shirt! I have no sympathy for Assange or the investors!
Bail was set too low.
Spc got it right.
The money put up was not about bail at all, but an attempt to secure Assange an opportunity to flee and it almost worked. Nobody was suckered, at least to the extent that they didn't get what they paid for, another Michael Moore movie.
I don't see how anyone could possibly support Assange. Try hacking Russia or China, and/or publishing secrets about them all over the planet and see what happens to you. Assange is an idiot and will end up getting what he deserved.
"This man violated the laws and security of our country and deserves the death penalty."
While I don't agree with wikiLeaks and what they do Our laws are not the law of the world. The person or persons that leaked those documents to him are the ones we can convict and I'm pretty sure he is in jail facing the death penlity.
The end does not justify the means.
Why was Tony's original post collapsed? What was said in his post that is so offensive?
Are you joking JD? "Nothing to do with misdeeds???? ...Really???
I refer to the video, Do you think that this video shows anything about how the U.S. treated iraq citizens and international journalists?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to3Ymw8L6ZI
People who refuse to see the truth when it hits them in the face disgust me!
JD are you proud of what the world has been shown about our nation?
Don't shoot the messenger for something YOU might not want to hear!
Assange did NOTHING wrong!
FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
We have no reason to hear every detail of how our country proceeds in its effort to protect our homeland. We can hardly expect our government to play fair and be open on all fronts because no one else does. sometimes a few things have to be done to protect us all and if you think that is not right perhaps you should move elsewhere but keep a look over your shoulder for the people our government protect us from here.Sometimes things have to be done to protect the masses.
Bradley Manning violated the trust that this nation put in him. He didn't expose war crimes or even abuse of the Constitution, just confidential diplomatic traffic. We would be naive to think that diplomatic cables contain nothing but nice things. How can our leaders conduct a foreign policy if they don't receive candid assessments? Manning deserves a long prison term.
Billy N. Igger banned, rereg of multiple accounter joe t.-1178631.
If my government wouldn't trump up bogus charges just to arrest Assange , these people would still have their money!!
Assange Did what needed to be done, He released information that corrupt politicians were hiding!!
I for one have seen the Guitmo Cables and i gotta say what the media didn't make public is so inhumane , I feel like hanging G.W Bush from the highest Tree in the world and setting it on fire!!!
What the Guitmo cables showed was "accused" Terror suspects being tortured !!
An example of this was one of the prisoners being stripped by guards and having dogs attack the inmate while armed guards standing in a circle around the inmate just watching!!
In the end if Assange is the man i believe he is to be will reimburse his supporters who posted bail for him!!
darkdragon
If he had that kind of money he would have posted it himself.
@darkdragon
ROTFLMAO!! If he was half the man his harebrained supporters believe him to be he would have done what all great civil protesters have done and face the charges and the jail time. It would have made him a martyr of sorts but instead he cowers behind a two bit President of a third world country who has delusions of grandeur this making a joke of himself and his supporters. Espeically the chumps who paid his bail
darkdragon,
What trumped up or bogus charges are you referring too? There currently aren't any charges pending in the US. He is wanted by Sweden for questioning in a sexual assault case. End of story! You've been taken in by his paranoia.
How funny is it Michael Moore is among those he stiffed?
archangel,
Dude, paranoia? Assange is in survival mode. The world knows that he is on the right side of history. Ecuador needs to give him diplomatic immunity and get Assange to Ecuador where he will be safe from the sleaze in Sweden and the US.
@archangel 3:16
At least learn the whole story, Assange asked Sweden that he will come there for question if and only if he won't get extradite to US. The answer from Sweden is "Sorry, we can't promise you on that".
Paranoid? Not really, it seems you are the naive one. If it is only for question, Assange can do it at London or anywhere in the world. Are we living in the middle age now with no long way communication?
I agree. They should not trump charges against him.
Rather, we should just send someone to shoot him in the head, and be done with it.
Hey Dave Lacks in the USA,
It's a lot cheaper for the US to use an armed drone at the Ecuador Embassy in the UK. The US has lots of recent experience invading sovereign airspace with armed drones and SEAL team death squads to take out the unconvicted. Who needs due process anyway?
It would be a lot easier for the US to simply request extradition from the UK where we have an extremely favorable extradition treaty than to have Sweden extradite him only to then have to request extradition from Sweden where we don't have as favorable of a treaty.
But the truth doesn't play as well to the paranoia crowd ...
Eventually the ASSange kool-aide will sour and you will all wake up from his delusions of grandeur and realize what a small petty cowardly piece of trash he REALLY is..
I'm fairly sure that Assange didn't jump bail without letting his financial supporters know what he was doing, and that those who put up the bail money aren't frustrated over the loss the way Judge Howard Riddle seems to be because he had no one to admonish in his courtroom.
Tough-titties Judge. Go cry over a pint or something.
Genenut,
The UK won't extradite an Australian to the US without a valid court order. There is no US court with jurisdiction over Assange to issue one.
It would be easier and more efficacious for the US to send over the KKK, burn crosses outside the Ecuadorian Embassy, extract Assange, and then tar and feather him. This is the traditional way to handle "those people" who Americans don't find acceptable to society.
CuongDNguyen,
It is you that is mistaken, look back at the articles from the British press that covered the extradition! Sweden did say that they could not guarantee that the US wouldn't attempt to extradite him, but that is only the truth. Last I checked, Sweden does not have the authority to speak for the US. THERE ARE NO PENDING CHARGES IN THE US FOR ASSANGE!!!! He is not wanted for questioning either in the US so there are no grounds at this point for an extradition attempt. If the US had grounds for extradition, they could have tried extraditing him from England which is a much closer to the US politically. Not to mention the fact that any extradition from Sweden would have to have the approval of England to happen! This has already been stated in the media several times since the Swedish extradition hearings began!
HYSTERICAL!!!:)
I.M.Morani,
Ecuador has already granted him asylum in both the embassy and in Ecuador. His problem is that he jumped bail in England in order to hide in the embassy so now he is wanted for bail jumping as well as questioning in Sweden. The offer of asylum is only good on Ecuadorian soil and he has to find his own way to get there unless Ecuador issues a diplomatic visa for him which would possibly grant him immunity to travel. This is a limb Ecuador is not ready to extend because they know what the consequences will be. It is one thing to goad the lions while outside their cage and another to step inside while your doing it. Ecuador made points with Assange followers by granting Asylum, but will not alienate the US and England by going any farther.
I'm supposed to feel sorry for Assange??? Why, exactly? He's wanted for questioning in a sexual assault in Sweden, and he's made up this CRAP about being extradited to the USA, so he stiffs his friends and is hiding in an Ecuador embassy? He can't get to Ecuador from there, and he WILL BE ARRESTED the minute he steps out the door. Exactly what good did that do him??? Not only is he a weasel, he's an IDIOT! Let him rot in that embassy, serves him right!
As I recall his Country filed the charges of sexual misconduct after two women filed charges with the local Police. I find it amazing that anyone would offer to assist with bail for a man that is obviously a sexual predator - oh that's right liberal philosophy accepts that a man that professes his liberal philosophy does not have to recognize a women's right to say no. After all these women are simply there to meet his needs, desires, wants when, where and how he demands. Yep I can see all you liberal women certainly have made great strides in the last 100 years toward your sexual equality. I know they really wanted it and were simply playing hard to get - morons
If anyone doesn't realize that his supporters were perfectly prepared to "lose" this money then they have no @!$%#ing clue whatsoever.
This coward is hiding after raping the 2 women. He is a coward that will do anything to save his hide, to include sacrificing anyone who supports him. If he raped your mother, sister, or daughter, would you say it was ok, after all he thinks he is a big shot.
What kind of man is this? He is a coward sin juevos! He used a young military man to get this information and used it to gain noteriety for himself and left the American kid hanging to take the rap. Of course the kid broke the law: it is called treason, but Assange also commited a potentially lethal crime called espionage which endangered the lives of thousnadsof young American military lives. Now for you who are pissing and moaning about those poor terrorists who were mistreated, remember these were the guys who would cut off your slly ead with a kinife and would shoot women publically for having her face showing. They were the same guys who attacked this nation killing over 3,000 men, women and children thusly commiting an act of war against this soverign nation.And remember also that Assange is also under indictment for rape and from which he fled his country to escape trial and prosecution....can you see a pattern here? As for those liberal, America hating sob sister liberals who put up the bail money it is good they lost their money....maybe they should be in jail with him. (Eucuador is only interested in aggravating the US) Assange paying all of these bleeding hearts their money back: do it look like he has any character at all? If he is so great, who ever heard of him before he became an internation rapist and criminal? Back to the terrorists: Where in theconstitution does it enemy combatants civil rights? Enemy combatants are tried by military tribunal and that is what this government should allow the military to do. If King Saud(the one to whom the president gave a deep bow : muslim king) does not like it,=, he can stick it! Who gives a fiddler's f what he likes(except the politicians who are on the take) or dislikes.
sorry for the typos in the above....it would not allow me to edit..it was silly head
What the hell did they expect from that freak looking bastard? He got a US Soldier to commit treason for which the little prick should hang. Then he ran out on sex charges. Why? Well if he could prove that he was innocent he'd have faced them. That should say something. But nooooooo, he runs to the embassy of a piece of crap tin pot dictator. He probably kissing his behind and other naughty bits.
if the supporters "lose" the money... who "gains" or "keeps" it?
hmmm, isn't that a great system of Justice... or should I say "Just Us"
archangel 3:16
Assange has committed no crimes in the UK. By stroke of the ambassador's pen, Assange can have diplomatic visa and immunity from extradition to Sweden. He could then leave the embassy and fly to Ecuador.
Sure Ecuador would alienate the US and UK, but no more than the Scots did when they returned the Lockerbie Bomber to Libya.
I believe a diplomatic immunity visa has to be granted by both countries. I believe the UK can refuse to acknowledge the visa since it's after the fact.
Assange is absolutely guilty of dispersing classified and secret government information. It's not up to him to decide what a government does. If he is turned over to the USA, I hope he is tried for being a spy. If he is found guilty I hope he is executed.
Top Secret information= Politicians Dirty Laundry
It all boils down to this. No matter what you do there are rules in place you must follow or you run the risk of getting punished whether they are right or wrong. Governments all over the world have secrets they claim and punishment if they are divulged by anyone not authorized to do so. Along comes a rebel and decides he can get rich divulging those secrets and he gets caught doing it. So he played the game be a man step up and fight the charges like a man. Don't run leaving your sponors holding the bag like this. All this for nothing. What did we learn from all of that crap he released? The public gave a big rats ass about the documents and the only people who paid any attention are the enemies of the people whos documents were released. Now he is in a self imposed jail for what the rest of his life because if he pops his head up he is off to jail and if he stays he may as well be in jail. He is not a very bright individual.
Who told you that rumor. I read all the WikiLeaks. I suggest you read!! Nothing Top Secret at all. Classified is a very mild term for everything Government.
I guess no one read the info about the International Banks and scams??? Very informative.
JS in SD, you mean like the US revealing the name of the Pakistani doctor who is serving a sentence for treason for feeding info to US re OBL? Like that you mean? OK for the government but not for a middle-man just sharing cable info he receives.
You know, JS, prunes and yoghurt are excellent laxatives for clearing blocked colons like yours. They won't, however, fix your mean streak. I bet you have a few vicious secrets.
@Brit in the pit
I reread his post and I don't see where he suggested anything of the sort.
Do you always just make stuff up so you have an excuse to bitch?
What exactly is the good work that a spy performs? Finds foreign secrets and passes them back to his bosses? And this is productive? Didn't we arrest a few Russian spies in NY a couple of years ago and then give them back to Russia? Sure, because we knew we have spies there and would want them back.
Spies and secrets are government crap, childish really, as they play their virtual war games. Should your kids' school have secrets? Like Penn State? Your church about its priests' child abuse? Your city hall wheeling and dealing? Political kickbacks? Pork projects? Cops confiscating substances for resale? CIA covert ops to overthrow, assassinate foreign governments and leaders? These are public institutions supposedly working for us, paid by us.
Jesus people, get some perspective. Think about it, if the media hadn't published there would be no leaks. Do we want free press or censorship?
There's a foul stench from all this kind of gang bullying of just one man. Just a pack of wolves on a weak prey. Yeah, find him guilty (of what law, I don't know, he's not American), and execute him like blood-thirsty rabid animals.
Just ignore this news rubbish. Assange hasn't affected our lives but many of you want to leap to your feet and rant as if our country suddenly needs your patriotic fury. Ho hum, it's time for me to read the children a story, maybe Little Red Riding Hood or Jack and the Jerks.
Once upon a time in a land of no reason, a lump of a guy lived at the top of a beanstalk reading his old love letters. Sometimes the wind blew pages to earth. Ground goblins found them, read them and pretended their senses were shocked, an impossibility since they had no sense. Soon a million gathered, determined to chop down the stalk and kill him. Moral? Idle minds will turn cruel.
Moron's. If it was information about Russia, China, or Iran, the United States would be offering him Asylum.
Manning's your traitor. Manning's your United States citizen. Manning could have gone to anyone with this information. He probably could have found a way to get it into the enemies hand's if he had wanted too. Assange is guilty, for sure, of one thing... Embarrassing our government. He is an Australian citizen and has no right being brought here for trial.
Now why would you want to cover up evil doings, bud? Are you a communist sympathizer?
You do realize he's not American, right?
Yo Bud,
The US has no jurisdiction outside its borders. I know you think the US is always right and omnipotent, but don't believe all those things that your mother told you. Using armed drones in another's sovereign airspace and sending death squads into foreign lands without their approval is right up there with Hitler's invasion of Poland and Sudam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. Please explain it to me if you see things differently. Please don't use the "America is infallible reasoning" your mother taught you.
"JS in SD, you mean like the US revealing the name of the Pakistani doctor who is serving a sentence for treason for feeding info to US re OBL?"
How do you know we revealed it Pakistan as a very good spy agency and what would be the problem telling your allies that are supposed to be helping you catch OBL who worked with you to catch OBL? The real questions is why is Pakistani prosecuting someone for helping us do what they claimed to be doing?
Julea Bacall: You lie - no one has read all of the files that were stolen because not all were released. Also since you do not work in a classified field you would not recognize what is considered classified information if it jumped up and bite you in your fat ass. That names were released to the general public of people that work for the US in other parts of the world has placed those people in jeopardy Bottom line we are going to prosecute the moron that stole the information why not prosecute the person that used this same information for personal gain and at the cost of how many lives?
@Brit in the pit
ROTFLMAO!! Just ignore the news unless they report what you want to hear.
This case is easily resolved. All England and Sweden have to do is guarantee that he will not be handed over to any other foreign government and he can simply get on a plane and go answer their questions. Also, a Swedish agent can easily fly over to England and go to the Ecuadorean embassy to interview him. Assange is right. They want him in Sweden to hand him over. If governments do not do anything wrong then they have nothing to worry about and nothing to hide. Documents come under the 'classified' banner simply to hide the wrong that is done in our names.
It really is quite simple. Assange is a coward who does not stand up for what he says he believes.
He's now a fugitive from justice, and a high profile one at that. he can run and he can hide for a time, but these types are always apprehended eventually.
Assange was second in the line revealing secrets for money and hiding behind the "free press" banner. Pretty much like the Westboro Baptist protesting at soldier funerals. It may be in their "rights" but doesn't make it "right".
3 sides to this: 1) Gov'ts also do dangerous things that are not good for other governments - there are rules and those that make those rules can enforce them. There's a lesson there folks and Assange will learn it. 2) Unless your in the group of #1 or related to someone in this group, this has almost no direct impact upon you, but sound off anyway as your right as an American - not so for others in other countries. 3) Psychologically he fits a specific criminal profile; a suspected rapist, believe that laws do not apply to him, and that he is serving a greater good no matter if it negatively impacts others.
It's interesting how few people above understand the facts of his case(s), but pick a side anyway to match YOUR perception. But bottom line is that people like Assange are destructive people and those that flock to support him are of the same psychosis (i.e.-Michael Moore) where there is some truth and good to what they are trying to do, but they go too far beyond the boundries. If he somehow gets out of this mess, it won't be pretty for those that assist him (individuals, governments, etc) but he doesn't care about that - it's all for a greater cause in his mind.
Walt,
Wow. I thought that in a Democracy, We the People, make the rules. Is this 'rule' along the line of who has the gold makes the rules? In such case, it would seem that what we are paying for, equality amongst men, is a lie? Please help me understand your reasoning?
I think your investments are being used against you, my friend.
Julian Assaunge is just one of many messengers, He is no more guilty than Youtube is for hosting the video the world got to see! It is VERY clear WHO is guilty, THE UNITED STATES MILITARY.
Does seeing this make you "proud to be an American" Walt?
Is that video the way you want to portray the United States to the world? As cold blooded murderers?
Where was the outrage when the innocent, UNARMED, CNN reporter was gunned down in cold blood by our helicopters? No remorse from a government that riddled a van with high caliber bullets that CLEARLY HAD CHILDREN inside of it while it sat parked on the side of the street. In fact they called S.O.P. under their rules of engagement!!
I wonder how many times this has happened that nobody ever saw or reported?
This behavior by our government is despicable! Then to try to blame the messengers for showing this MURDER to the world just proves what scum they really are!
FREE MANNING!
Peter - that is exactly the problem. None of those governments will publicly declare those statements because it all boils down to the fact that the Obama Administration does want Assange brought here. Pathetically sad.
The bail should have been higher because this guy has been moving around too much and having money and friends!!! It should be 2-5 million to pay for the MI-6 costs to track and catch him later.
awwww, it sounds like you have friend-envy.
The man should go to Switzerland and face his accusers!!! If he is innocent, he walks. If not, he doesn't, pretty friggin' simple if you ask me. The US has not said it would extradite Assange from Switzerland...so why don't the traitor just go on back to where he is accused? He is a piece of s***, that's why! Coward...traitor, pos.
Boo hoo. I feel so sorry for these people. Honestly, I doubt they were suckers and believed he would show up to court. I'm sure most if not all of them expected to lose their money. If it turns out they did know he would run they should all be charged with aiding and abetting a criminal.
If the loss puts any of them in financial hardship then they are the biggest fools money can buy.
His BS about receiving the death penalty in this US is laughable. No sane person would believe it. No one believes the prick that give him the documents is going to get the death penalty. Why would he? I hope they all lose their money. I wish there was a way for Saunders to lose her house. In my opinion they scammed the UK court system.
If, and I think this is a very small if, they expected him to show up in court then that proves once again Assange is an @!$%# who cares less about the people who helped him out than he does for himself. It would be apparent that he took their help in bad faith.
Gneise:
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
It's entirely possible that they were aiding and abetting Assange in the full realization that he planned to bolt. I don't know, though, and neither do you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
So: risking money you can't really afford to help out a ( seemingly ) kindred spirit makes you a fool, eh? I mean, I get that you see it that way.
________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Don't you think it's possible that the people who contributed to Assange might have seen themselves as taking a bullet for the team? If they saw the entire prosecution as a witch hunt, they might prefer that Assange remain free, however that shook down.
anyone who contributed knew going in that the primary fight was to keep JA from the usa killing machine.
the US has a very favorable extradition treaty with the UK, If the US wanted to extradite him we would have asked the UK directly not had Sweden extradite him so we could ask them to extradite him to us.
He needs to face the charges in Sweden.
If they aren't true then the courts will figure that out.
Otherwise he is a cowardly stupid petty little man and those who put up $$$$ to free him are equally stupid and petty.
@ Cagey -
OK, You noticed I said IF they knew they were aiding and abetting. I get to give my opinion just like you do. Funny that.
As for loosing money you can't afford to by helping a (seemingly) kindred spirit making you a fool? It's the classic definition. Wouldn't you consider someone a fool if they say - cosigned a mortgage for someone they didn't really know? Loaned $30,000.00 to someone they didn't really know? (Which is pretty much what they did here.) Come on. If they were deceived then they were fools.
As for your last comment. It really has more to do with my first comment than my last. I do indeed believe they "Took one for the team." I think the deserve to lose their money. I personally think they deserve to be charged with aiding and abetting. But like I said, that's my personal opinion. They may have been duped. They may have been suckered. But I really believe that Assange as proved time and again that he cares mostly for himself. Others be damned if it conflicts with what he wants out of life.
Not to mention the charges of jumping bail in the UK.
No one cares about the money. He and what he did for the world is more important. Nothing Top Secret was exposed...only useful Truths about sneaky deals, coverups, Bank fraud, Corrupt multinationals, and everything that Shouldn't Be Happening!
Julea,
That is not what he is wanted for in Sweden, you know the country that extradited him. He is wanted there for questioning in a sexual assault case. He fled the country so he could avoid answering the authorities questions. He fled authorities in England when the courts rightly found that he should go back to Sweden to answer their questions. He is nothing but a cheap sex offender and bail jumper. He is not a hero by any means.
Angel do a little bit of research. He has made every attempt of communicating with Sweden law enforcement for "questioning" including a refused video conference.
Anyone who truly thinks this is all over what is coming out of Sweden shows your ignorance in the matter. Keep pointing the finger at Sweden and not mentioning a single level-headed reason to be brought to the US for trial... ridiculous.
Not true archangel. Assange did report to the swedish police for the charges while he was there working in Sweden dropped the charges and they told him he was free to leave. It wasn't until the US began putting pressure on Sweden did they change their minds. So he went to London and that's when the trouble started. Sweden reinstated the charges a couple weeks after dropping them initially, at the insistence of the US. Assange told the Swedes he feared the US wanted him and if he went to Sweden he'd be extradited to the US, so he asked if he could come to the swedish embassy in London for the questioning. Sweden refused. Assange told them they could come to the Ecuador embassy as well. It's all in the investigative report "sex, lies and Julian Assange." Don't be so quick to trust the us government, where a third of congress has pledged themselves to a damn lobbyist. Not the people their supposed to represent, but a frickin' lobbyist. Almost all of Congress, the white house, the court system are in the tank for the corporate dictatorship that determines this country's policies, both foreign and domestic.
The big reason the US wants him is because of the release of the video "collateral murder." I suggest every one who hasn't seen it to view it and THEN see how you feel about the case.
The NY Times, the LA Trib and a few other newspapers printed a lot of what was discovered in the cables, but they aren't being prosecuted ... why?
@Yukk....
You're right....most countries will bend over backwards to accomodate someone wanted for a crime in their country....especially if they're paranoid-ridden albinos like JULIAn....
He is no man, at least not one with any balls. He really needs to man up and play the game he insisted on beginning. At least he is in a prison of his own making - all the while blaming someone/everyone else for his 'misfortunes'.
Jet, Julian Assange has bigger balls than you and pretty much everyone else posting here.
You would probably surrender to a kid with a squirt gun the moment your IP address was discovered.
Mike X,
It is really funny the lengths his supporters,(like you), will go to justify his behavior! If the US wanted him, why not charge him and try to extradite from England! I tell you why that hasn't happened, because despite the distaste for what he published, they cannot find a law on the books that could mean anymore than a few months of jail time! Given that he is an Australian citizen, he is not a traitor. Given that he had no direct involvement with the theft of the material, he cannot be tried for espionage as a spy. At worst he can be tagged for aiding a felon and receiving stolen property, unless there is some unused 100+ year old law hiding in the weeds that can be used against him. As far as his attempts to contact Swedish authorities, don't you think the Swedish authorities have the right to question him in a time and place of their choosing? As for the charges, the initial charge was Rape and that was dropped and re-entered as sexual assault. There is a large difference between the two, especially since it is over the lack use of a condom without the partner's permission not over the act of sex itself.
Mike X,
He is not being prosecuted for what was released on the internet. He is wanted for questioning in a sexual assault case! The alleged assault took place when he decided to have sex without a condom with a sleeping woman he had had protected sex with the night before! In Sweden, unprotected sex without permission constitutes sexual assault! The Swedes have every right to demand his return for questioning and have won their case in British courts to have him returned to them. Great Britain has already stated that if an extradition was tried later by the US, they would have to be consulted for permission before it could go through. This was a stated condition of granting the extradition.
Okay Angel, how about this... for all of you anti-Assange people who insist this is because of Sweden. If and when he is extradited to Sweden, intercepted by US officials and brought here to US soil, will you be joining us in the streets to protest his unjust charges?
Or will you simply shrug your shoulder's, not really care that you were wrong, and let him go to the chopping block without a single word of protest out of your mouths?
I will pretend to play puppet show and say yeah send him to Sweden, but you can guarantee Swedish authorities will not even have a chance to talk to him.
I don't care about the Swedish charges, I don't think Assange cares about the Swedish charges. If the US didn't want him then why would they not publicly announce it?
A link that was shared by someone on another Assange topic. Ron Paul on Julian Assange.
And if they really didn't want him then why do we have US congressman pleading before congress to leave him alone!???
@ Yukk - Then why didn't we file an extradition request with the UK? We could have probably gotten that right off the bat.
You have to understand... there are going to be a lot of stupid Americans who will say he was harming America.. but none of these idiots can point on example of how it did. NONE. Absolutely none.
He was a whistleblower. That was it. A lot, lot of uneducated dummies who listen to some monkey on the radio who will tell them what to think. Not really intelligent people, and not a true reflection on more intelligent Americans. He was right to show if there was wrongdoing going on. Of course, the military would want to cover up any atrocitiies or such that they did. That is why they label his a treason.
You mean a rapist
Dan,
It is impossible for him to be charged with treason in the US. He is not a US citizen, therefore what he did was not treason. He really can't be charged with espionage, because he didn't steal the documents in the first place. They might get him for conspiracy, or for aiding a felon, or possibly receiving stolen property, non of which carry the death as a penalty.
And you numbskulls who believe that these cables will put our military in harm's way ... are you brain dead? you think we come there to blow their country to shreds and they welcome us? Attacking countries based on lies is what put our people in harm's way. Invading countries and overthrowing governments without provocation is what puts our people in harm's way. We go overseas and start wars without being provoked, steal their resources and obliterate their infrastructures while killing a million or so people and that wasn't enough to piss them off. It was Julian Assange and wikileaks exposing other evil acts that made them mad enough to hurt our troops. Do you believe everything you hear on lush rimbaugh and fake news channel? Can you wipe your own rear end without instructions from billo riley?
Rapist? Oh right, having sex without a condom is considered rape in Sweden. That whole BS nonsense should be dropped. Consensual sex is not rape. Period.
@MissScarlet -
To be fair, he is only wanted for questioning; for all we know, after he answers a few questions he might be released and free to go on his merry way.
As far as your opinion about the charges....were you there? I know I wasn't, and surely none of the Swedish police were either (probably why they want to ask some questions). Do you know what happened, what transpired, who said what and when? I didn't think so. Amazing that you Assange followers accuse everyone of drinking koolaid, listening to Fox, etc, but you yourselves only believe what benefits Assange.
As far as what your personal opinion about the laws in Sweden? They are a free country, and they can make any laws they please. Visitors must abide by Swedish laws, whether or not you or they agree with them. Its that simple. He possibly did not, and is now wanted for questioning, thats all.
For someone who values 'truth' so highly...one would think that he would welcome the opportunity to speak the truth; oh, I forgot....he can't get rich by doing so, or embarrass someone (other than himself)....oh well....so much for the TRUTH.
If we had more like him, the World would be a much safer place. I'm so sick of being lied to.
I'll bet the rmoney-lyin'ryan ticket has you doing about 3 pints of pepto bismol a day, Julea? Me too.
Hmmm...so you wish we had more rapists?? good one Julea... I bet you back pedophiles too, huh? I am all for innocent until proven guilty, but to run from it, for any reason, shows guilt first.
Marty - Alleged rapist. Nothing's been proven in court.
And the charges were dropped once, but reinstated by the Swedish prosecutor, who is looking to move up in the Swedish political ladder.
There's no better way to impress your colleagues and constituents than to pander to a foreign country that you depend on for food, steel, automobiles, petroleum, and pharmaceuticals.
I read somewhere that he originally fled Sweden when the charges of Rape were filed. While it might have made him deficate in his drawers, innocent people don't often run.
You are lying to yourselves if you believe that Assange is honorable.
This is for the backers in the immortal words of nelson muntz( simpsons ) - haha
Assange really wouldn't be guilty of anything in the US. He's not the one who took the information, he was just the publisher. I doubt the Pentagon Papers case applies, since he did everything outside the US...didn't he?
The world has already moved on, and nobody cares. Assange will rot in the Ecuadorean embassy and one day he'll try to leave...and get caught. End of story.
He is wanted for RAPE in Sweden. Not for making government documents public.
I love how everyone is forgets that part.
Assange is a worthless arrogant prick and it is poetic justice that it his prick that has gotten him into serious trouble in Sweden. Eventually he will have to go to Sweden and if convicted he's goanna become an expert on unsolicited unprotected sex . . . I hope with a 300 pound Finn by the name of Moose.
Nobody forgot it. You just don't pay attention or look for the truth very hard.
I find it hilarious that this clown thinks that everyone else should be open and honest and this pathetic excuse for a man is hiding in an embassy.
To those that put up money for this POS...SUCKERS!
From Wiki:
Despite withholding some 15,000 incident reports for "safety reasons," thousands of documents in the Wikileaks Afghan war log do identify Afghans by name, family, location, and ideology. The Taliban issued a warning to Afghans, alleged in the log to have worked as informers for the NATO-led coalition, that "US spies" will be hunted down and punished, indicating they will investigate the named individuals before deciding on their fate.
Asked what he thought of the dangers to those families created by the release of their personal information, Assange claimed that many informers in Afghanistan were "acting in a criminal way" by sharing false information with NATO authorities. He insisted that any risk to informants’ lives was outweighed by the overall importance of publishing the information.
I suppose acting like a coward and hiding in a foreign embassy could be considered "acting in a criminal way" too....
I hope he dies in that Embassy.
Looks like another job for SEAL TEAM 6
The best part -- we won't need WikiLeaks to leak the details of the raid, the SEALs do it themselves for $9.95!
Is no one else concerned with a poster that goes by 'Billy N. Igger? Or just me?
What's in a name when it's actions that count?
Otherwise, I just ignore the flamers.
Sweden can talk to Assange anytime..ever hear of a telephone? He is treated like a criminal when no crime has been proven. Just a lot of government hacks who are embarrassed. Regardless, he's not Bin Laden but too many governments are embarrassed. Since my American government spy's on everyone in America, every citizen, any way....I don't have sympathy for the government.
I say storm the building and dag the little bastard out kicking and screaming. Why do so many feel there actions have no consequences. He had so much to say when he was posting secrets on his site, yet he hides like a little b***h. Chicken Sh*t.
Moore's definitely getting his money back on his next movie.
I HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT YOU AND YOUR FAKE PIC BEFORE;HOWEVER,ONLY TO FALL ON DEAF EARS. I AM ASKING THE MODERATOR TO TAKE DOWN YOUR OFFENSIVE NAME IMMEDIATELY WHICH IS OSTENSIBLY N. IGGER. WHICH IS JUST A CLEVER WAY TO TO USE THE N WORD. PLUS, I HAVE SEEN THIS PHOTO BEFORE IN ONE OF MY BLACK HISTORY CLASSES CALLED, "PRE-CIVIL RIGHTS RACIST PROPAGANDA". I AM ALMOST CERTAIN YOUR DISTORTED HIDEOUS PHOTO SHOPPED IMAGE IS TAKEN FROM AN ARYAN PROPAGANDA MAGAZINE.I DO NOT HAVE THE TOOLS TO PROVE IT RIGHT NOW-BUT I WILL OBJECT,ONCE AGAIN, TO THE RACIST NAME SNEAKING IN THE N WORD VIA YOUR ON-LINE ALIAS, "BILLY N.IGGER". MONITORS PLEASE DELETE THIS NAME AND USER.
@Billy N. Igger |This man violated the laws and security of our country and deserves the death penalty. If you don't agree with the laws about classified or secret documents, the thing you can do is organize and get like minded candidates elected and CHANGE the laws THROUGH the system. You don't violate the laws just because you don't agree with them. This is called having a civilized society. I just wish Michel Moore would of lost 10's of millions of dollars. And for goodness sake, why on earth would you want to help someone accused of RAPE avoid justice??? Maybe because you are like minded?
#1.7- Wed Sep 5, 2012 1:05 AM EDT
If the powers to be really wanted this person gone, he would be gone. Just another egotisic maniac.
It's worth the loss of the money to keep Julian Assange from ending up in an American gulag, where he'll be tortured and humiliated by the terrorist United States government. God bless Ecuador!
let me pack your bags so you can move there eddie since you think its so great...
Eddie, We will miss you LOL
@LemonBen
<Is no one else concerned with a poster that goes by 'Billy N. Igger? Or just me?>
Yes, I have but to no avail! I am disappointed that more have not complained to help remove this poster's photo and derogatory name with the "N" word.
Perhaps Billy is black. There's no problem when they use the word, so whats the problem.
Nonsense. He would most likely be convicted of aggravated sleaze and sentenced to an extended stay in a prison shower. Has to be better than being the resident punk in an Ecuadorean embassy.
This has nothing to do with Assange stopping being extradited to the U.S.,this is about a man who has commited a heinous crime of rape and doesnt want to be brought to justice for his crime,he is only using the U.S. as a defence,also if he didnt want to be prosecuted by the U.S. he shouldnt have published those articles.